The Texas Rangers are staring at a lineup puzzle that gets trickier the closer Josh Jung gets to returning.
Jung has been out since July 21 with a calf injury, and there still isn’t a firm timetable for when he’ll be back. He has been running and taking defensive drills, but that’s as far as the progress report goes for now.
Skip Schumaker offered a not-so-encouraging update on Josh Jung last Friday. @Othankkevin and @inthemageors react⤵️ pic.twitter.com/nMJ5MOBYXd
- 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) August 24, 2026
The obvious assumption would be that the Rangers simply drop Jung back into the lineup once he’s ready and move on. But it’s not that clean.
Corey Seager missed nine days after Jung went down, then came off the IL and has been on a tear ever since. His return has covered a lot of the ground Jung’s bat left behind, even if Texas’s offense still hasn’t really found its rhythm.
And then there’s the other wrinkle: Jung’s glove has been a problem this season, and a calf issue doesn’t exactly sound like the kind of thing that will help him sharpen it in the stretch run.
That matters because Ezequiel Duran has taken most of the third-base reps while Jung has been out, and he’s made the most of them. “The Solution” has given the Rangers value all over the field, and at this point he looks like the far better defender at the hot corner.
Ezequiel Duran is good at this third base thing pic.twitter.com/FRyIZnhX6v
- kennedi landry (@kennlandry) June 22, 2022
Duran’s season has turned into something bigger than just a stopgap. He’s hit his way into a breakout year, and since July 1 he has been scorching: .284/.348/.500 with eight homers over 198 plate appearances. With that kind of production and Gold Glove-caliber defense, there’s a strong case that he shouldn’t be the one moving off third.
Ezequiel Durán since July 1:
46 games
.280/.340/.506
8 HR
26 RBI
136 wRC+
2.0 fWAR
He has the most fWAR among all AL infielders during that span. pic.twitter.com/YUuxBIVuud
- Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) August 25, 2026
So the Rangers have a real balancing act on their hands. Jung can’t just sit on the bench, but Duran has played too well to push aside easily.
The simplest fix would be to send Duran back to second base, especially with Nicky Lopez having faded there. But that comes with a cost: Jung’s defense at third is still a concern, and Duran’s arm loses some of its impact at the keystone.
A more flexible setup could make the whole thing work better. Against right-handers, Texas could keep Duran at third, use Jung at DH and move Joc Pederson to first base.
That would let the Rangers keep Duran’s glove on the field while also getting both Duran and Jung into the lineup. It would also replace Jake Burger’s .683 OPS against righties with Pederson’s .834 mark.
Against left-handers, the alignment could shift again. Jung could go back to third, Burger could return at first with his .886 OPS against southpaws, Justin Foscue and his .967 OPS against lefties could slide into second, and Duran could fill in wherever needed.
That kind of platoon setup would let the Rangers squeeze as much offense as possible out of the lineup without giving away defense. It just depends on Jung getting back, and if most of his work comes as the DH, maybe that return can happen sooner rather than later.
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