*Photo from the Dallas Morning News*
Once again, a point of hope for the Texas Rangers is instead more disappointment. Rangers top prospetc and 3rd baseman Josh Jung underwent shoulder surgery on Wednesday, according to an announcement made by the Rangers.
The injury to his shoulder ends any chance Jung had of making the Rangers opening day roster out of spring training. Jung will be out of action for 6 months. He was lifting weights before the beginning of the Rangers minor league camp in Arizona, when he felt discomfort in his shoulder. He was initially diagnosed with a strain, but it ended up becoming a torn labrum, which required surgery.
Rangers GM Chris Young said of the shoulder discomfort that "That was the impetus for us getting a test on his shoulder, which revealed a level of damage that obviously has required surgery. The extent of preexisting damage in there, we're not certainly sure. But all in all, we know it's repaired at this point. This is a tough break for Josh, but given his character and work ethic, we're fully confident Josh is going to make a full recovery and bounce back from this."
As the Rangers top prospect, Jung was expected to debut this season, and had a shot of making the team out of spring training, despite not currently being on the 40 man roster. That won't happen now, with his debut being delayed until August at the absolute earliest. Team physician Dr. Keith Meister performed the surgery in Arlington, Texas.
This is also the second consecutive year that Jung has had a season derailed by injury. He missed a large chunk of time in 2021 due to a stress fracture he suffered in his right foot during spring training, and he didn't make his season debut with Double A Frisco until June. He was later promoted to Triple A Round Rock.
Young said that "I think the experience he had with the foot will serve him well. I think that he will be able to understand what all goes into the rehab process. Josh proved that last year; he's been through it. We have no doubt about the character, the work ethic and commitment that he will make. We know that our rehab staff is tremendous. We are confident that with all those factors combined, Josh will have a smooth recovery."
Jung was expected to compete for the 3rd base job, or perhaps a spot on the big league bench, during spring training, but with that delayed and Jung injured, the job will almost certainly go to infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa, with Corey Seager manning shortstop, Marcus Semien at second, and a mix of Nate Lowe, Yonny Hernandez, , Andy Ibanez, and Nick Solak at first base.
Young said "Josh wants to be as good as he possibly can be, and he will reach his full potential. But our hope is that you get these out of the way early in his career and there's nothing that can prevent him from being injury-free for the next 15 years of his career. When he's out on the field, he's performed to the expectations that we had hoped and it's been fun to watch them."
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