PITTSBURGH -- Rangers first baseman Jake Burger is going on the injured list with a Grade 1 left oblique strain, the Rangers announced on Saturday.
Burger exited Friday night’s win over the Pirates with left side tightness following his swinging strikeout in the seventh inning.
“I was hopeful going into the scan, that it was just some sort of cramp kind of thing,” Burger said. “But fortunately, it's not. I think for me, I've dealt with this in the past, and it's been pretty quick. My mind's on 11 days. I'll let my body tell me and work with the training staff and strength staff, but my mind's on that 11th day, and getting back as soon as I can.”
Burger was out from April 15-May 6 in 2024 with a left intercostal muscle strain while with the Marlins.
He was also out from May 4-May 14, 2023, with the White Sox with a mild oblique strain. Burger said this one feels more like the injury from 2023 than ‘24.
“Last year was more intercostal, so a little deeper, a little more daily function with that,” Burger explained. “I was feeling it when I coughed, sneezed and ran last year. This year, it doesn't feel like that. That's promising. I think it's just one of those weird, finicky things that hopefully if I just don’t do anything for four days with rotation and then see where we're at on the fifth day.”
Burger has an aggressive swing with a bat speed in the 88th percentile, according to Statcast. When his mechanics get a little out of whack, all that force has to go somewhere. That often leads to these type of oblique injuries that he’s endured the last few years.
“I wish I had a better explanation, but I just feel like I'm not flowing efficiently with my force, it tends to go into the one area that we don't really want that force to go into,” Burger explained. “I’m just trying to stay consistent in my moves and my mechanics. That'll stop it.”
Over 65 games spanning two stints with Texas this season, Burger has batted .220 with 10 home runs, 13 doubles and 29 RBIs. He ranks among club leaders this season in doubles (2nd), extra-base hits (T2nd, 23), RBIs (4th) and total bases (4th, 95), while making a career-high 59 starts at first base.
Bochy said that utilityman Ezequiel Duran is likely to get the majority of playing time at first base, even with the Rangers calling up infielder Justin Foscue from Triple-A Round Rock to fill Burger’s roster spot.
“I’d like to give Zeke some runway here,” Bochy said. “I think he's been swinging better, and he gives us a good option there at first base. It’s been good to see him make some adjustments.”