Rangers’ top prospect who replaced Josh Jung already battling his own injury woes

Just as quickly as Justin Foscue arrived on the major league scene, the Texas Rangers rookie will now exit stage right. Foscue landed on the injured list earlier this week with a left oblique strain. Foscue had just made his big league debut on April 5 in Houston.

The Rangers can ill afford to be without Foscue after losing fellow infielder Josh Jung earlier this season. Jung was struck by a pitch last week and suffered a broken wrist. The slugger required surgery and was placed on the 60-day IL. The recovery time is expected to be between 8-10 weeks.

A timeline has yet to be revealed for Foscue, but oblique injuries can be wildly unpredictable. Add the first-year Rangers player to the growing list of injuries in Arlington, and repeating as World Series champions is beginning to look more and more difficult.

Rangers’ infielder Justin Foscue, who replaced Josh Jung, placed on 10-day IL

Without Jung, the Rangers were forced to reshuffle their infield. Texas was already without Nathaniel Lowe, who suffered an oblique injury of his own. The Rangers are hopeful to send Lowe out on a rehab assignment in the near future.

So without Lowe, Jung, and Foscue, the Rangers are dipping deeper into their talent pool. The water there is not nearly as deep, as Foscue's replacement was Davis Wendzel. The infielder's contract was selected from Triple-A Round Rock, and he'll now be a bench option for Rangers manager Bruce Bochy.

Wendzel is a former first-round pick in his own right and was slugging .657 for the Round Rock Express. But at almost 27 years old with a .777 OPS over his five minor league seasons, Rangers fans aren't exactly excited about seeing the Baylor product taking reps while the trio of Lowe, Jung, and Foscue are anchored to the injured list.

During Monday's game against the Houston Astros, Bochy went with Josh Smith at third base and Jared Walsh at first. That's likely to be the defensive alignment moving forward, with Ezequiel Duran finding playing time at both corner infielder spots as well.

The Rangers fell to the Astros on Monday by a final score of 10-5. Texas still leads the AL in base hits, batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS, so there's no need to panic just yet. But fans have to wonder how much longer the Rangers' bats can keep hitting with so many injuries befalling the club's best players.

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