Texas Rangers Injury-Plagued Infielder Is Biggest X-Factor This Season

The Texas Rangers fell woefully short of expectations during the 2024 season in large part because of the number of injuries their players sustained.

Key contributors were sidelined regularly, leading to a very disappointing 78-win campaign after winning the World Series in 2023.

Now that several of those players are healthy heading into spring training, expectations and optimism are both on the rise.

One of the players whom the Rangers would love to see return to form is third baseman Josh Jung.

A first-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Texas Tech, he was a highly-regarded prospect instantly. He was inside the top 100 for four years before graduating during the 2023 season, making an immediate impact.

Jung recorded a slash line of .266/.315/.467, hitting 23 home runs with 25 doubles and one triple, knocking in 70 runs.

He was an integral part of the team’s run to the World Series. The bright lights of October baseball didn’t phase him as he recorded an impressive .308/.329/.538 slash line with three home runs, four doubles, one triple and eight RBI in only 70 plate appearances.

Unfortunately for Texas, his 2024 campaign was marred by injuries, which is a major reason that he didn’t make the top 10 of MLB insider Buster Olney’s third baseman rankings heading into the year over at ESPN.

“He sustained a wrist fracture only four games into last season, an injury that was a huge loss for Texas. He came back and played 46 games but had to undergo a second surgery in October, and his status this year is one of the big questions for the Rangers,” Olney wrote about the Rangers young star.

Jung landed in the honorable mention section along with Isaac Paredes of the Houston Astros, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays and Royce Lewis of the Minnesota Twins.

If he can return to the form he showed in 2023 and stay healthy in 2025, Jung has a great chance of breaking into the top 10 of these rankings ahead of the 2026 campaign.

He is the biggest X-factor for Texas heading into this year as one of their most important contributors in the middle of the lineup.

All but 13 of his career at-bats have come hitting somewhere between the third and sixth spots in the order, with a majority of them in the No. 5 hole.

It will be interesting to see where he slots in this year as the team has arguably the deepest lineup in baseball. Jake Burger and Joc Pederson were added to a group that already included Marcus Semien, Corey Seager, Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia.

Regardless of where Jung hits, he is going to be counted on to help produce runs at an efficient clip. He has proven capable of it when healthy, making the All-Star team has a rookie.

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