Rangers Star Says 'It Sucks' When Talking About His Demotion

The Texas Rangers had to make a hard decision at the beginning of July featuring Josh Jung.

After being a star prospect and becoming a key part of the franchise winning their first World Series championship in 2023, his career has become marred by injury and poor performance.

Last year it was the injuries.

A fractured wrist after he was hit by a pitch caused him to miss all but 46 games, with his absence being a major reason why the Rangers weren't able to defend their title.

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But with him healthy heading into this season, the hope was Jung would get back to being the All-Star third baseman he was during the 2023 campaign.

Unfortunately, things devolved to the point where Texas had no choice but to option Jung on July 2, with his .164/.205/.216 slash line in the last 30 days before his demotion producing the second lowest OPS in the Majors during the month of June.

Now, the 27-year-old is back with Triple-A Round Rock, a place he thought he left behind.

"It sucks," he said to Evan Grant of The Dallas Morning News (subscription required). "Plain and simple. I’m doing everything I can to get back."

That's a good mentality to have.

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That's not a shot at Round Rock or those players who are there, but Jung's pedigree and past performance suggests that he should not be there at this stage of his career.

Something had to go wrong for him to be playing minor league baseball, and that's exactly what happened with his ineffectiveness during the month of June.

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Jung will have an opportunity to reclaim a spot on the Major League roster at some point. However, it's unclear when that's going to come barring an injury that forces the Rangers' hand again.

Josh Smith has been a revelation for Texas this season, being the most consistent hitter throughout the campaign who has largely kept the offense afloat as they waited for Corey Seager to get hot and others to step up their performances.

With Smith's ability to play all over the field -- which includes third base -- the pathway for Jung to get back isn't clear.

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