Josh Smith Returns to Rangers After Bout with Viral Meningitis

The Texas Rangers second baseman still has some milestones to achieve before he can get back on the field.

Texas Rangers infielder Josh Smith. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Josh Smith returned to the Texas Rangers clubhouse on Thursday for the first time since he went into the hospital two weeks ago for viral meningitis.

Smith remains on the 10-day injured list, which is where he was before he suffered the illness, and it's unclear exactly when he'll be able to return to the field. But the fact that he's healthy and in the clubhouse is a good first step toward a return.

Smith talked about how he learned of the illness with reporters, including DLLS Sports.

Josh Smith’s Recovery from Viral Meningitis

Texas Rangers shortstop Josh Smith. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Smith went on the injured list on May 5 with a right glute strain he suffered during the team's road trip to Detroit. For the next 10 days he rehabbed as normal with the hope of being able to come off the injured list. He suffered a wrist injury while rehabbing, which set him back further. Then, came an illness he didn't quite understand until it became impossible to ignore.

The symptoms came on while the Rangers were at home but before the team went to Houston to start a three-city road trip on May 15. He was already feeling the effects of the illness and didn’t go on the trip. The Rangers announced his diagnosis the day the Astros series started.

“A couple of days before that I was just kind of having some symptoms, but I wasn’t paying much attention to them. I just thought it was like a normal sickness,” Smith said.

On May 13 he woke up and called his father, team trainer Lucky Lucero and another Rangers physician about his symptoms and all said the same thing — go to the hospital.

“My dad was like, ‘You need to go to the hospital just to get checked out, and I was thinking, ‘That makes it seem like I was being kind of dramatic,” Smith said.

It was good advice. Viral meningitis is an inflammation of the protective membranes around the brain and spinal cord. It presents as a typical illness but if left untreated it can become serious. When treated, the recovery time is anywhere from seven to 10 days.

Smith will need time to get back into game shape. He’ll also need to ensure that both of his previous injuries are healed. He offered no timetable for a return. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker was not at Thursday’s game as he attended his son’s high school graduation.

In Smith’s absence, Ezequiel Duran has played second base, as has Justin Foscue and the recently signed Nicky Lopez. It’s not clear if Smith will have a job at second base when he returns as Duran is having the most consistent offensive season of his career.

Texas is also without shortstop Corey Seager. It’s not clear when he will return from a back injury that put him on the injured list after the Astros series in Houston.