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Rangers Place Jung on Injured List Ahead of Season-Defining Game
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- Rangers Place Jung on Injured List Ahead of Season-Defining Game
(IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect)
After being removed from the game on Friday, Sept. 25, the Texas Rangers realized they had no choice but to place Josh Jung on the Injured List .
An IL stint at this point in the season is far from ideal, especially with the implications of these next two games.
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The final American League playoff spot is going to either the Rangers or the Houston Astros , and there's a very real possibility it comes down to the final game of the year.
That said, a Rangers loss on Saturday, Sept. 26, paired with an Astros win would be the end of the road for Texas due to Houston having the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Jung heads to the 10-day Injured List
This move doesn't necessarily mean Jung's season is over, but it would take quite a bit of winning for the Rangers to still be around when he's eligible to return.
Jung, 28, suffered a right hand fracture that required him to be put on the shelf in late September.
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A slew of other moves were made including catcher Logan O'Hoppe being recalled from Triple-A Round Rock along with left-handed pitcher Robby Ahlstrom .
In addition, right-handed pitcher Gavin Collyer was optioned to ACL Rangers.
Jung was coming off a three-hit night
To see Jung go down so early into the Minnesota Twins game was a huge blow as he had just put together a three-hit night on Thursday, Sept. 24.
The Rangers know they need to win at least one game in order to make the playoffs, but of course, it'll still take some help from the Astros.
Jung going 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, and a walk was incredible, especially since the Rangers won that game 3-1.
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There's no doubt they don't win that one without the performance of Jung, and now they won't have him in the lineup for these final two regular season games.
Jung was hitting .341 in September which was his second highest batting average during a single month. His highest was the .381 he hit back in April, and he also hit .314 in May as part of his incredibly hot start to the season.
If this is indeed the end of the road for Jung this season, his 2026 campaign will come to an end with a .299/.365/.462 slash line. Jung sported a career high .827 OPS along with a stellar 2.2 WAR, the highest it's been since his 2.4 WAR season back in 2023.
