Ezequiel Duran has continued to step up as Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung's calf injury has not healed as initially expected.
When Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung went down with a calf injury on July 21, there wasn’t much cause for concern.
With a team off-day scheduled for the next day, Texas hoped that Jung would return for the following game.
Flash forward 15 days later and not only has Jung not returned to the lineup, but he has only been able to play catch and complete some light running.
Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said that Jung’s injury isn’t necessarily getting worse but just isn’t healing quite like they thought it would.
Before Wednesday afternoon’s game, Schumaker said it will be at least another 10 days before Jung will be able to go out on a rehab assignment or complete something of that nature.
After a down two years, Jung has had a resurgent 2026 season, hitting .294 with an OPS of .802 to go along with nine home runs and 35 RBI.
More importantly, metrics suggest that for whatever reason, when Jung is in the lineup, the Rangers find ways to win games more often than not.
However, as they have for much of the season, Texas will once again have to find ways to win without their full complement of players.
Fortunately for the Rangers, they quite literally have "The Solution."
Ezequiel Duran, who has played all over the diamond this season, has stepped in at third base since Jung went down and has not only held his ground but has elevated his play.
Duran went 4-for-4 in Monday night’s game and followed that up with a four-RBI night on Tuesday that was capped off with a walk-off double.
“He [Duran] nicknamed himself ‘The Solution’ for a reason, and it’s no joke; he really is at times, and he’s been that the whole year,” Schumaker said after Tuesday’s game.
“[On Monday] He [Duran] had an error that he was frustrated with, and a young player would take it to the at-bat; he did not," Schumaker continued. "He ended up getting four hits. He’s played an unbelievable third base, making some tough plays; he’s running the bases. You know what the energy is that he’s bringing every day; it’s real, it’s not fake.
“For us to have all these injuries that we’ve had for him [Duran] to do what he’s done, it’s kept us afloat to this point and still within striking distance, so to speak, and he’s a big reason why.”
