ARLINGTON — The Rangers currently have 13 players on injured reserve. They have five Cy Young Awards on the shelf. They are without wonderkid rookie Wyatt Langford, and their “little savior” Evan Carter hasn't started in over a week.
But there's a pretty strong argument that they miss no one more than Josh Jung.
Over the weekend, that became more and more obvious. Chung admitted he still can't swing a bat more than six weeks after his wrist surgery, but the Rangers have surpassed the total number of games played without him since 2023. Without him, the offense is still finding its footing, especially against left-handed pitchers.
The numbers from a year ago without Chung and this year's game are strikingly similar. But it's not just about offensive numbers. If Chong plays, they're a winning team, but if he doesn't play, they won't.
“He's a pretty special player,” manager Bruce Bochy said Saturday. “A player is more than just a spreadsheet of numbers. We will miss the presence and energy he brings. He was an All-Star and one of our core players. We will always miss our core players. That's it.''
Jung's recovery from a broken wrist is progressing, if a little slower than expected. The Rangers initially expected a six-to-eight week recovery, but when hand surgeon Dr. Don Sheridan saw a complex fracture that would make it difficult to place screws and metal plates to heal, the recovery went to 10-12 weeks. The Rangers are now looking toward the long end of that window.
Chung started playing ground balls and playing catch this week, but it will be at least 10 days to two weeks before he is cleared to swing a bat. Once he is cleared to do so, it is expected to take three to four weeks to be ready for a match.
The Rangers could falter without him for another six weeks. Let's consider some numbers.
Number of runs per game: Coincidence or not, the Rangers see a difference of about one run per game depending on Jung's status. In the 42 games he didn't play Saturday, he averaged 4.45 points per game. One year ago: Averaged 4.73 RBI without him. In 124 games started since the beginning of 2023, the offensive line has averaged 5.73 points per game.
Aggressive Indicators: The Rangers started Saturday at a .247 batting average without Chung, which was about the same as last year's batting average without him. In his case, he was hitting .268 a year ago and .269 in the four games he played.
His OBP is the same: .341 last year and .341 this year. Without him, the team also dropped 21 points to .320. Josh Smith has been playing third base in Jung's place, but his decline in slugging ability is even more noticeable since he's not as much of a power threat. His slugging percentage with Jung was .463, but without him his slugging percentage was .403.
If you look at the overall numbers, it's exponentially worse against left-handed pitchers. Smith, a left-handed hitter, has had good results against left-handed pitchers, but he lacks power. When Smith was the No. 5 hitter for 13 games, the pitching staff took a different approach to the middle of the lineup. He was trying to attack Smith and get him to hit or double. John has the power to change the course of a game. Saturday, the Rangers faced a left-handed pitcher for the second straight day and the eighth time in 16 games in May.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Josh. [Smith] They did a great job on our behalf,” Bochy said. “He's a very valuable player.”
most important place: Maybe it's all coincidence, but the Rangers are a winning team when Jung plays and a losing team when he doesn't. They entered Saturday at 75-49 (.605) as a starter since the start of 2023; they're 38-46 (.452) when he isn't. That's a big difference. It suggests that maybe Jung's impact extends beyond just the offensive numbers.
“He's a very enthusiastic, 'first-rate rail' kind of guy,” Bochy said of Jung's presence. “He brings it to us every day.”
So far, the Rangers are missing out on that.
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