Rangers might have a lineup dilemma on their hands once Josh Jung is able to return

The Texas Rangers lineup has been in a bad way ever since Josh Jung went down with a calf injury. It's now been over a month since Jung last took the field on July 21, and by the looks of it, he won't be returning any time soon. Jung has done some running and defensive drills, but there is still no concrete timetable for his return.

When (if?) the hot-hitting third baseman is able to return to the lineup, will it be as simple as plugging him into the lineup and watching the Rangers take off? Not exactly. While there was a nine-day gap between Jung going down and Corey Seager being activated from the IL, Seager has been on a tear since returning and has more than filled the void Jung's bat left behind. It hasn't mattered much for Texas's offense, though.

Still, having Seager and Jung healthy and productive at the same time is something that we haven't seen all season. Surely that will help get things on track. There's another problem, though. Jung's defense has been particularly bad this season, and a bum calf likely won't help him get better down the stretch.

While he hasn't played third base exclusively in Jung's absence, Ezequiel Duran has taken the lion's share of the reps there since Jung went down. "The Solution" has been invaluable thanks to his defensive contributions across the field, and at this point, should be a vastly superior defender.

The Rangers will need to creatively integrate Josh Jung into the lineup when he's ready

Duran is a special defender and has had a breakout year with the bat. He's been so good on both sides of the ball that it seems like he could be the first-ever player to win both the utility man Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards.

He's also been on an incredible tear recently. Since July 1, Duran is slashing .284/.348/.500 with eight homers. That's a sample that includes 198 plate appearances. Given his hot bat and Gold Glove caliber defense, it's hard to say that he should move off the hot corner.

At the same time, the Rangers' lineup can't afford to leave a productive bat like Jung's on the bench. So how can they balance everything upon Jung's return?

The easy answer would be to move Duran back to second base, where Nicky Lopez has turned into a pumpkin. There are two problems, though. For one, the defense suffers with Jung at the hot corner. Second, one of Duran's best assets is his arm, which is negated a bit by playing the keystone.

The better solution requires a bit of creativity. Against righties, Texas could keep Duran at third, plug Jung in at DH, and move Joc Pederson to first base. This helps in several ways. In this alignment, the club would still take advantage of Duran's defensive prowess, but it would also benefit from having both his and Jung's bats in the lineup as well as replacing Jake Burger's .683 OPS against righties with Pederson's .834 mark.

Against lefties, Jung could return to third; Burger could bring his .886 OPS against southpaws back into the fold at first; Justin Foscue and his .967 OPS against lefties can slide in at second, and Duran can go back to being the versatile solution wherever the Rangers need him on the diamond.

By splitting things up in a platoon this way, the Rangers can maximize their offensive output without sacrificing their defense. They just need Jung back for it to become reality, and perhaps if he's DHing the majority of the time, the process can be expedited.

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