SURPRISE, Ariz. — Submitted for your consideration, the stats of a pair of strikingly similar major league players in the Rangers camp over the last two seasons:
Player A: Slash line of .254/.336/.380/.716 and a 6.2 WAR in 293 games.
Player B: Slash line of .255/.295/.398/.693 and a 2.0 WAR in 177 games.
One player won a Silver Slugger Award; one was briefly sent to the minors.
Rangers
And yet, this spring the player with the better offensive credentials, Josh Smith, is locked into a competition for the second base job. Manager Skip Schumaker said of the other that he is simply looking for Josh Jung to “take hold of the job.” Put more bluntly, Smith has to win his job; Jung can only lose his.
It bears asking a simple question. Why aren’t both in the same boat? Based on the offensive numbers, which was the Rangers’ biggest weakness a year ago, it would seem they should both either have starting jobs to lose or should both be in competition along with a group that includes Ezequiel Duran and Cody Freeman, for whom the Rangers would really like to find a spot, as his energy embodies all the tenets of the “good teammate” ethos Schumaker and Chris Young have preached.
“I think [Jung] is as motivated as anybody,” Schumaker said earlier this week. “He was sent down. He was a former All-Star and World Series champion that is not happy with probably the last year or year and a half with injuries and everything that’s gone on. I don’t want to say it’s an open competition, but I expect him to take hold of the job and not let anybody creep in. I do feel, though, that competition brings out the best in people, and I’m looking forward to seeing what that looks like in spring.”
This is a critical season for Jung, who turned 28 last week. It must be determined, once and for all, if he is part of the Rangers’ future core. His career was stymied early by multiple injuries, but he was an All-Star starter as a rookie in 2023, only to have his 2024 season over almost before it started due to a broken wrist that required two procedures to fix. He’d also had surgery on his right thumb in 2023 after a fracture. He was healthy for 2025, but didn’t perform, seemed sullen at times and ultimately was sent to the minors for two weeks as a wake-up call.
When he returned, the numbers were marginally better, but not enough to erase the doubts. He still chased too much and didn’t do damage when he was ahead of pitchers. The only saving grace: His defense was above average.
The demotion may have been an in-season wake-up call, but the season, as a whole, was an inflection point. Whether he has competition for the starting job or not in spring training, he’s got to prove he’s part of the long-term solution.
“I was definitely just not happy with the results last year, not happy with the volatility that I was going through,” Jung told The Dallas Morning News. “I need to re-engage. I need to become obsessed again with the process and the little things. I got results-oriented for a little while there, and let that control me. That’s not the type of player I want to be. I want to be just obsessed with the process and let the game take care of itself.
“I need to bring the mentality of [competition] here every year. Ultimately, there’s going to be someone younger, newer, better. I’ve got to show that I’m the guy every day. Don’t take anything for granted. The game’s not forever. Your career is not forever. So just go. Right now.”
It may sound like a Van Halen lyric, but it’s also the proper approach.
But there is also reason to give him some room to breathe. The wrist surgeries of 2024 were debilitating and recovery lasts longer than it does to just merely get back on the field. Former Ranger Marcus Semien had wrist surgery earlier in his career and said after Jung’s first procedure it took him two seasons to get back to right. And Jung has actually had three procedures, two on the right wrist and one on the left.
Schumaker agrees on the impact of a wrist injury for a hitter.
“As a player, I’d rather be hit in the face than the hands,” Schumaker said. “The hand injury is so challenging to come back from. It’s your carrying tool as a hitter and it does take a lot longer than people think. As a competitor, you rush back, but you aren’t ready.”
Said Jung: “I know I’ve got to give myself some grace; I had massive surgery on both arms. But that doesn’t excuse me not dedicating every day to the process and getting too focused on results. I want to be obsessed with the process. That’s my word for the year. Obsessed.”
The best way to show that this spring is by treating things like he’s in a competition to win a job. Because at the end of the day, he just might be in one.
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