Texas Rangers Spring Training Notebook: Injury-Prone Josh Jung Plans To Wear Bubble Wrap Next Spring

Texas Rangers All-Star third baseman Josh Jung was in good spirits three days after straining his left calf fielding ground balls. He suggested he'll wear bubble wrap next spring after a string of fluke injuries.

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers third baseman Josh Jung joked that he plans to arrive to spring training next season in a suit of bubble wrap.

Jung, who strained his left calf fielding ground balls on Friday after arriving at camp early, is taking a humorous approach to the injury. I mean, he has experience learning to deal with them, His left thumb is still swollen while it tries to adjust to the seven screws and metal plate that were inserted during his August surgery to repair a fracture.

Two years ago he broke his left labrum lifting weights before camp opened and has surgery that sidelined him for most of the 2022 season.

"If I can make it through Day 1, I'll be just fine," Jung joked. "So next year, I'll just show up in bubble wrap and wait till the actual first day of camp."

Calf injuries require time to heal, which the Rangers expect to be two to three weeks. There's no sense in rushing Jung back before it's completely healed. Doing so could potentially cause a more serious injury.

"Definitely. It's spring training. We're not trying to make the playoffs or anything," he said. "Just take it day by day and figure it out that way."

"Walking isn't fun, but every day it's getting better, so that's promising," he added. "It's spring training, so it's not going to be rushed by any means. I get a couple extra weeks off. The short offseason I just extended it a little."

Quotables

"Unbelievable. At 21, I couldn't cook a meal. He's gone out there in a World Series with a month of service time under his belt and helping us win games. That shows you the type of player he is, the type of person he is, and the type of composure he has. He's he's gonna make a name for himself in this game for sure." — Rangers outfielder Travis Jankowski on Evan Carter

"My favorite moment was when Corey tied [Game 1 in the World Series]. It was really cool. I loved it. The team got a little bit hyped up, and then we started believing that we could do it." — Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia

Crowding the Plate

The Habit Burger Grill is a fast-casual chain that started in Santa Barbara in 1969. It has spread west, including 16 locations in the Phoenix metro area. There are also plenty on the East Coast, from Miami to Boston. So far, however, The Habit has stayed out of the middle of the country, including Texas.

That's a shame because their chargrilled burgers are a step above your typical fast-food burger chains. Their charburgers are similar in style and appearance to In-N-Out Burger, but their patties are a little thicker and have a more distinct flavor from the open flame grilling. Also, Habit's thick fries are much better, and they serve the best fast-food onion rings in the country. Sorry, Sonic, you're a close second. I've always made a habit (my apologies) of hitting The Habit in Los Angeles. There's a location just south of LAX that I've visited so many times they know me by name. (Not really.)

I had lunch at the Surprise location on Monday. It's in the heart of a new shopping center near Waddel Road and Highway 303, a short drive west of Surprise Stadium. Their BBQ Bacon Char with cheese comes with a sweet barbecue sauce and good quality bacon and American cheese. If I have a complaint, it's the amount of toppings (tomatoes, onions, pickles, lettuce) that can quickly make you lose complete scene control of your burger, even with the half-wrapped help it arrives in.

Of course, you can request to leave off toppings. I left it all on and scarfed it all down, along with their fifty-fifty, which is a combination of onion rings and fries. That's perfect for somebody like me. I want options in case one item is subpar. In this case, both the fries and onion rings were hot and fresh; the fries were particularly on point, with a solid, crispy skin but airy, fluffy inside. 

The BBQ Bacon Char Burger is at The Habit Burger Grill in Surprise, Arizona.

Stefan Stevenson/SI FanNation, Inside the Rangers

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