"My heart wants to be back out there" - Rangers youngster Josh Jung eager to contribute to team's offense upon return

It's a tough time for All-Star Josh Jung and his team, the Texas Rangers. Jung was one of the active participants in the club’s World Series campaign last year but has been unable to support his team since early April. He suffered a fractured wrist and was aided with a plate and screws for healing.

Jung was expected to take a BP on Monday and face live pitchers the next day in Milwaukee. However, neither happened as he faced an inflammation in the right wrist. It extended his injury break despite Jung’s high enthusiasm to return to the lineup.

“My heart wants to be back out there, to help the team, especially when we are in kind of a rut,” Jung said Thursday, per Dallas News. “What difference I can make, I don’t know. What percentage I’ll be, I don’t know. That’s where the [inner] conflict comes from.”

Josh Jung got hit by a wild pitch from Phil Maton during the Ranger-Rays game on April 1 and was sidelined with an injury. He spent 12 weeks since then without participating in the big league.

He went 4-for-17 with five strikeouts in four rehab games with Triple-A Round Rock, prompting his return to the Rangers roster. But his recent soreness report in surgery wrist made the Rangers delay his comeback for a not-mentioned period. He's slated to swing bats on Friday, and if things go well, that might open his path to getting back to the field.

Meanwhile, the Rangers shrunk to third place at the AL West after their sweep by the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week. Their losing streak continued as they tasted a 2-11 defeat against the Baltimore Orioles in the series-opening at Camden Yards on Thursday, bringing their season record to 37-44.

Rangers’ members are waiting for Josh Jung’s return

Despite Josh Jung’s ambition to join his team soon, the Rangers are in no hurry to call in before assuring his condition. Perhaps fellow Rangers’ All-Star Marcus Semien knows it better than anyone.

In 2017, Semien suffered a fracture in his wrist and underwent surgery to get back before the All-Star break. But the result was evident as his stats went down for a while.

“I managed the wrist for the rest of that season,” Semien said, per Dallas News. “But the next year, the strength still wasn’t there. We are a better team with Josh in the lineup, but I want to make sure he’s right. I want him to make sure of that.”

A similar statement also came from Bruce Bochy, Texas Rangers manager, when he expressed his desire to want Jung in top health for the club upon his return.

“This is a little hiccup,” Bochy said, via MLB.com. “Our expectation is we can get this under control in the next few days, and then hopefully, I don't know what the timeline will be because I'll let the medical team determine what the next steps are in terms of safely building him up and making sure that this is not a lingering issue.”

The Rangers will face the O’s on Friday, hopefully breaking their four-game losing streak and raising their rank before Josh Jung resumes his season.