Rangers hopeful Jung can reach new heights after shaky '25

ARLINGTON -- Josh Jung's professional career has not been smooth sailing from the start. And not all of it has been under his control.

In 2019, the Rangers selected him at No. 8 overall in the MLB Draft. That summer, he raked his way to Single-A ball after just four games in the Complex League. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped away his first full season of pro ball, before a series of injuries prevented him from ever having a healthy Minor League season.

All that to say, the 131 games Jung played in 2025 was by far the most he’s put together in a single season in his professional career. And it surely wasn’t without its ups and downs. One of those downs included an option back to Triple-A Round Rock for the first time since his MLB debut.

In those 131 games, he hit .251/.294/.390 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs, all full-season career lows if you exclude his cup of coffee in September 2022 (26 games).

“I want him to come in hungry and I want him to try to win a position,” said new manager Skip Schumaker. “That's literally the goal of the majority of our guys. Albert Pujols said that after winning an MVP when he came into Spring Training. If a guy like that says it, I think our guys can say it as well.”

In this new era of the Rangers, Schumaker and his staff are going to be trying to get the club back to the postseason. A major part of that will include the offense, where Jung was just one of many underperformers in 2025.

But Jung just hasn’t quite been able to reach his All-Star heights since a broken wrist sidelined him for much of 2024. Schumaker said at the Winter Meetings that Jung has been working out in Arlington all offseason with hitting coach Justin Viele in hopes of returning to form once and for all.

“I think he's working on those types of things,” Schumaker said. “I don't want him to be something that he's not. I want him to be the version that he was in 2023, and not try to tinker too much and try to be this player that he just isn't.”

Jung has long been seen as a cornerstone of the organization. He’s got to prove he can still be that guy.

The 27-year-old has shown who he can be at his best. During Jung’s rookie season in 2023, he was named an All-Star starter at third base en route to the club’s first World Series championship. Now he’s got to find a way to do that again.

“He's a big, physical kid that should be hitting for some slug,” Schumaker said. “I think the message really is that I want him to be feared once again. I want him to be feared in the box. He's a third baseman on a team that's positioned to go to the playoffs and make a run at this thing. He should be feared whenever he gets in the box.”