ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung was scheduled for surgery Tuesday on his broken right wrist and will miss about six weeks, general manager Chris Young said.
Jung was hurt when he was hit by a pitch from Tampa Bay reliever Phil Maton on a swinging strike in the ninth inning of the Rangers’ 9-3 win on Monday night. He was placed on the 10-day injured list and infielder Justin Foscue was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.
“He was very dejected last night, understandably, and he was in pain too,” Young said, “I hate it for him. He worked so hard. He came in a great shape and obviously had the calf injury and worked hard to be back by Opening Day.”
Jung missed time during spring training with a calf strain.
Young said screws and a plate were to be used during the operation in Phoenix.
The 26-year-old Jung hit .266 with 23 home runs and a .781 OPS last season, finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting despite missing time with a broken left thumb. He batted .308 with an .867 OPS in the postseason for the World Series champions.
“Just got to keep reminding Josh he’ll be back,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We went through this not too long ago in spring training, and now he’s got to do it again.”
The 25-year-old Foscue, the 14th overall pick in the 2020 MLB draft, hit .266 with 18 homers and 84 RBIs for Triple-A Round Rock last season and was a late cut at spring training this year. He can play first, second and third base.
Most of Foscue’s baseball gear is in El Paso, where Round Rock was scheduled to play on Tuesday night, but Foscue did have some of his regular bats to bring along on the flight.
“I’m using my glove from two years ago,” Foscue said pregame in the Rangers’ clubhouse after catching an 8:30 a.m. flight from Texas. “I had it in my truck. I had a lot of gear my truck. So I just grabbed as much stuff that I needed for these next two days.”
Foscue is a career .275 hitter in the minors with 50 home runs and 218 RBIs in 288 games. He is ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect in the Texas system by MLB Pipeline.
He was 3-for-13 with two RBIs in three games with Round Rock this season.
The Associated Press and Field Level Media contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com