The Texas Rangers have two games scheduled on Thursday, as one half of the team will play against the Milwaukee Brewers, and the other half will take on the Athletics in spring training. Skip Schumaker submitted the lineup for the contest and seemingly left out a key All-Star. Reports now reveal why that is the case.
Schumaker claims that he is leaving Josh Jung out of the lineup for both of Thursday's contests because the 28-year-old third baseman is dealing with a minor hamstring injury, according to Kennedy Landry of MLB.com. The Rangers' manager admitted that Jung will likely be ready to return by Friday.
“Skip said he pulled Josh Jung from the lineup today as a precaution because he felt ‘a little something' in his hamstring. It's fine, but ‘It’s February 26,' and no need to push anything. He'll likely be in the lineup tomorrow. ‘He wasn’t thrilled that I pulled him.'”
Ezequiel Duran will play third base for the Rangers against the Brewers, while Richie Martin will fill in at third base for Texas against the Athletics. If what Skip Schumaker is saying is true, then we should expect Jung to return to action on Friday when his team squares off against the Chicago White Sox.
Josh Jung will be entering his fifth MLB season in 2026. After being named an All-Star in 2023, however, Jung hasn't quite competed at that level ever since. In 2024, he was limited to 46 games due to a fractured wrist injury that forced him to miss a majority of the season. He bounced back in 2025, but it was a bit of a struggle in comparison to his All-Star season.
Jung ended the 2025 campaign with a .251 batting average and .294 OBP while recording 121 hits, 14 home runs, and 61 RBIs. Remaining healthy is key to Jung's success, which is likely why Skip Schumaker didn't want to take any chances on Thursday.
