ARLINGTON -- This is a performance-based game. The Rangers' front office and coaching staff have said that many times this year.
That’s never been more true than on Wednesday, when Rangers’ 2023 All-Star third baseman Josh Jung was optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.
“I care about these guys, and it's not callous the way I say [it’s performance based],” said president of baseball operations Chris Young. “That's not the case. These are very tough decisions, especially when it's players that we care about immensely. There was a lot of thought that went into it, and what's best for the organization, what's best for Josh. In this moment in time, we felt like it's the right decision.”
Manager Bruce Bochy said that Jung took the news well, despite being disappointed that it had to happen at all.
Jung is the most recent Ranger to be demoted, as Jake Burger, Kumar Rocker and Evan Carter have spent varying amounts of time with the Express this season.
Jung's move cleared roster room for Burger, who was activated from the injured list after missing 10 games with a left oblique strain he sustained on June 20 at Pittsburgh.
“We're hoping to kind of reset, reboot, whatever you want to call it,” Bochy said. “When a guy gets a little lost at the plate -- and I think that's fair to say with him -- he's got things to work on. It's tough to do it up here. We want him to go down in a situation where maybe it’s a little bit more relaxed, and he can work on some things, whether it's mechanics or on the mental side, and get right. When he gets right, he's going to make us a better club.”
Jung, a 2019 first-round Draft pick (No. 8 overall), has long been seen as a cornerstone of the organization. He’s gone through several injuries in his professional career, but he has raked whenever he’s been on the field. During his rookie season in 2023, he was named an All-Star starter en route to the club’s first World Series championship.
Jung hit .280/.316/.453 in April and .265/.318/.431 in May, but struggled to a .158/.208/.221 slash line in June.
“I think it's a great time for him to get away and just have some time in a situation where, like I said, it's a little bit more relaxed for him to be able to work on things,” Bochy reiterated. “It's hard to try to make adjustments against Major League pitching when you get an offensive rut there where you're just not seeing the ball as well as you should."
Overall, Jung has hit .237 this season, with a .648 OPS, eight home runs, one triple, 10 doubles and 35 RBIs in 75 games for Texas. He started 72 games at third base and one as the designated hitter.
Early in June, Bochy gave Jung three days of a “mental break” during a series against the Royals, hoping that would be enough to get him right. After all, the same process worked with Adolis Garía, who was hitting .208/.256/.371 before his own mental break at the end of May and has been hitting .278/.318/.443 ever since.
Now, it’s up to Jung to get right in Round Rock and hopefully get back to the big league club sooner rather than later.
“Josh has a care factor as high as anybody here,” Young said. “He wants to be great. He's a team player. He wants this team to win. It's hard to see him struggle like that. I know he's internalizing it. I know he's wearing it, but he will get through it, because he's a winning player, and he'll come back and help us win. … Josh is a winner, and he'll get through this.”