Josh Jung's injury history: Bad luck or big concern?

Two years ago it took months for Josh Jung to get hurt, last year it took three games and in 2025 it only took two games before Jung found himself hurt.

Jung was placed on the injured list Sunday after leaving Friday's game in the seventh inning due to neck stiffness. The 27-year-old re-aggravated it after making an inning ending diving play to keep the Rangers in the lead and was replaced by Josh Smith.

“It just flared up on him [on that] backhand play last night and then the throw he made the first inning, too,” Bochy told MLB.com's Kennedi Landry. “The spasms just got to the point where we had to go get him. … I don’t think we know yet [about the injured list]. I hope for him and for us that we don’t have to, but it’s always a possibility going back to when it first came up, and obviously there is a little concern there. So we’ll see where we’re at tomorrow.”

This is now the third straight season Jung has been placed on the IL at some point during his MLB career. Each for different reasons: fractured thumb, fractured wrist and now for neck spasms.

At some point his injury history begs the question... is he just in the wrong place, wrong time when these injuries take place or is it a bigger concern?

Somehow, someway injuries seem to find Jung

Since Jung was drafted in 2019 he's undergone several major surgeries to repair broken bones or torn ligaments. In between, he's also dealt with minor irritations and setbacks during his recoveries.

Even the injury that has prompted the latest trip to the IL was reportedly something Jung was dealing with in the last week or so of spring training, which caused him to sit out the two exhibition games of spring.

For some reason, whether by fault or accident. Injuries simply seem to just track him down and affect his season.

March 2021: Jung underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his foot

After being drafted in 2019 and not playing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was finally time for Jung to make his mark. However, he suffered a stress fracture in his foot early in the season and missed the first couple months of the season. Jung did return in June and lit up Double-A, earning a promotion to Triple-A where he knocked the cover off of more baseballs.

February 2022: Surgery to repair torn labrum in left shoulder

Entering the season as a top 10 prospect in baseball, Jung was hurt before the season started. He tore his labrum in his left shoulder and remained out until the end of July when he played in a few rehab games for the Arizona Complex League Rangers and then returned to Round Rock for 23 games. Jung did earn a call-up in September 2022 and made his debut, hitting his first career home run in his first at-bat.

August 2023: Another surgery after fracturing his left thumb from a line drive

Jung fractured his thumb while turning a double play. Once again, he needed surgery to repair his thumb which included installing a plate and screws to stabilize the fracture. He missed a little over a month but returned for the postseason and hit .308 with three home runs and eight RBIs, playing in all 17 of the Rangers' playoff games.

April 2024: Right wrist fracture sidelines his entire season

Easily the unluckiest injury on this list. Jung was hit by a Phil Maton pitch in Tampa Bay on April 2 and ended up only playing in 46 games. This one wasn't really his fault, since getting hit with a pitch isn't a fault of really anyone it's just an unlucky turn of events. It was initially thought he'd miss around six weeks but the damage to his wrist was a but more extensive and the recovery timeline moved to eight to ten weeks. However, Jung suffered several setbacks and was eventually shut down for the final 10 games. He later underwent another wrist surgery in the offseason to deal with some lingering issues.

What does Josh Jung need to do to stay healthy?

At this point it is confusing how Jung seems to continually be injured, especially since he missed very minimal games in his entire collegiate career. But ever since he became a professional baseball player, he started experiencing injuries.

This season we thought Jung was finally going to enter the season and remain healthy but that got quickly proved wrong. Josh also mentions he wants to begin growing this season as a leader in the clubhouse, but one of the first steps to that is remaining on the field day after day.

It's such a shame because when Jung is healthy he's one of the best young players in the game on both sides of the field. As a hitter, he's a true threat to hit 30 home runs in a season and drive in close to 100 runs a season. Then at the hot corner he can seriously become a premier defensive weapon.

Jung needs to get with Marcus Semien and learn a thing to two about how to stay healthy and in the lineup everyday. Until then, we will have to just get used to seeing Jung making an IL trip or two every season.

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