Josh Jung prepares for redemption in 2025 after an injury-plagued 2024 season.
DALLAS — Third base wasn’t supposed to be a problem for the then defending World Series champions in 2024, not with 2023 Rookie of the Year candidate Josh Jung set to begin his sophomore full season of action for the Texas Rangers. But after graduating from a former first-round pick and prospect, Jung’s injury history flared up to make him one of the components of a disappointing year.
What started out with such promise quickly turned to panic before becoming the fertile ground for a stunning revelation that has allowed the Rangers to go into the 2025 season with more depth in case Jung again hits the shelf.
With 2025 right around the corner, the Rangers appear a bit more stabilized at the hot corner, but can afford to be a little more cautious. They have two insurance policies should they be unable to count on Jung for a full season, one in-house and one a new arrival via trade.
2024 Opening Day third baseman: Josh Jung
2025 projected Opening Day third baseman: Josh Jung
Jung, the No. 8 overall pick out of Texas Tech in 2019, already had a history of injuries that limited him in each of his first five seasons in the organization, delaying his big league call-up and ascension to big league regular.
After playing in 122 games before starting every game in the playoffs in 2023, however, there was hope that Jung was ready for a full year. That did not come to pass. Going into the 2024 season, Jung’s start was already in question.
During the first days of spring training, Jung was shut down early after straining his calf during routine drills. However, that injury was early enough in spring that Jung found himself ready for Opening Day. For four games, it looked like Jung was ready to pick right back up where he left off after hitting 23 home runs and finishing fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. For those first four games, Jung had already hit two homers, driven in six runs, and slashed .412/.474/.941. Was it a sustainable pace? No, but was it extremely fun to see in what looked like the start of a breakout season for Jung? Absolutely.
But in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays in the season’s first week, Jung was hit by a pitch and diagnosed with a fractured right wrist. Through no fault of his own, Jung would be out for the better part of four months, wrecking his season and putting a hole in the middle of the lineup.
When he eventually returned at the end of July, the landscape and outlook for the Rangers had changed drastically, and while the return of Jung was a welcome sight, there was far more at stake in August with Texas’ postseason chances hanging in the balance than there was at the start of the season. With a season’s worth of rust to shake off, Jung struggled to get going again. During 25 games in the month, Jung slashed .232/.238/.323.
In Jung’s absence, though, the Rangers were able to let the talent of a bench performer flourish to give themselves options heading into 2025. Josh Smith, who made his debut in the same year as Jung, came to Texas as part of the trade that sent Joey Gallo to New York. After starting the 2024 season as the 26th man on the roster, and having appeared only as a pinch runner in the playoffs in 2023, the former LSU Tiger took over for the injured Jung at the hot corner and had a red hot first half.
Coming into the year, Smith was viewed as a solid backup utility player, and that’s potentially his role in 2025 as well, but Texas now knows that he’s capable of more. With Ezequiel Duran already on the roster and able to play multiple positions, Smith was going to be relegated to a role of filling in when starters needed a day of rest.
While Duran initially filled in for Jung right after the injury, Duran was quickly moved across the diamond when starting first baseman Nathaniel Lowe went down, allowing Smith to take over at third base, a job he didn’t relinquish until Jung’s return.
What Smith did over the course of three months almost landed him a home stadium All-Star nod last summer. On top of playing more than solid defense at third base, Smith also proved that he could handle the bat when given daily reps.
Smith was a consistent performer when almost no one else in the lineup was going well. During his most productive month, June, Smith slashed .313/.406/.518 and had many clamoring for his inclusion to the All-Star game.
While that All-Star appearance didn’t materialize, and while Smith’s numbers returned to earth in the second half, Smith had spells in which he was the best player on the team, which no one would have guessed coming into the season.
Going into 2025, Jung appears to be over lingering wrist issues, is healthy ahead of spring training, and ready to re-assume the full time position at third base. Smith, meanwhile, is still with the team, with his performance last year perhaps saving him from being non-tendered over the offseason. He will now be the next man up if Jung goes down again, which is nice insurance to have.
The Rangers also added corner infielder Jake Burger via trade with the Miami Marlins over the winter. While Burger is expected to take over more at first base full time with the team having dealt Lowe to Washington, Burger has spent most of his career as a third baseman, giving Texas even more options in ways to juggle their infield if the injury bug again bites them in 2025.
For now though, 2025 is looked upon as a potential redemption season for Jung, who would love to build upon his rookie season after another injury-filled year cut his rise to reliable lineup stalwart short.
Do you think Josh Jung will be able to stay on the field in 2025? Share your thoughts with Matt on Twitter @FisherWritesMLB.
