Rangers hit with back-breaking injury news during garbage time vs Rays

On a night when Texas Rangers fans should be celebrating a victory -- their 12th straight road win, in fact -- the 9-3 triumph over the Tampa Bay Rays is a secondary headline because of an unfortunate occurrence in the ninth inning.

With Texas up 8-3, former Astros enemy Phil Maton hit Josh Jung on the wrist with a pitch. Jung promptly exited the game after being evaluated, and it was later revealed he suffered a fracture.

Jung's start to the 2024 season has been incredible. His offensive production helped the Rangers take down the Chicago Cubs in the first series of the season. Then, on Monday night against Tampa, he was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a homer and four RBI to raise his season average to .412 and his slugging percentage to .941.

Now, he's unfortunately going to miss a chunk of time. It's unclear how long it'll be, but Rangers fans can expect it to be a couple of months.

It's especially upsetting because Jung was sidelined for a good portion of spring training with a calf injury that many thought could slow him to the start of the year, but he was able to storm out of the gate and build off of his impressive rookie campaign.

Rangers News: Josh Jung injured after being hit by pitch against Rays

Heading into the 2024 season, the Rangers had been plagued by far too many injuries. Thankfully, Jung and Corey Seager were able to rebound and be ready for Opening Day, while Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Nathaniel Lowe, Michael Lorenzen and others would have to help the squad at a later date.

Though the Rangers probably have the reinforcements to adequately supplement Jung's loss, it just won't be the same. The 26-year-old was entering a pivotal 2024 that would be integral to his growth as an MLB star.

But Rangers fans are hoping Ezequiel Duran, who is probably the next guy up to fill in, can build off his encouraing 2023. The silver lining here is that Jung's injury could prepare the Rangers' depth to handle anything come late 2024.

Stay tuned for updates on Jung as he likely undergoes more testing and the team relays definitive information regarding his status. It's surely a bummer, but the World Series champs will be tested early and can benefit from it later on when the stakes are the highest.