Josh

Smith

Smith remains without a definitive return timetable, but he’s back on the diamond again after being hospitalized for over one week with viral meningitis earlier this month. The 28-year-old is expected to make a full recovery and should be cleared for a rehab assignment at some point in early June. He’s been on the injured list recovering from a glute strain and wrist inflammation since May 4.

Yikes. Smith is expected to remain in a Dallas-area hospital for the next 7-10 days while he recovers. There’s obviously no clear timeline on when he may be able to return to action, the important thing now is for him to focus on his health.

Smith hit the injured list with a right glute strain back on May 4. The 28-year-old infielder will also have to deal with a wrist issue during his rehabilitation process. There is no timetable for his return at the moment.

It’s a bit unclear how long Smith will be sidelined, but the most likely scenario is a multi-week absence. The versatile 28-year-old has mostly played second base this season and is off to a slow start, hitting .217/.324/.239 with zero homers and two steals through 31 games.

Duran scored two of the Rangers’ three runs in the win today. He now has a .440 lifetime average (22-for-50) against his original organization. The Rangers got him along with Josh Smith and a couple of others from the Yankees for Joey Gallo in 2021. Duran was starting at over Smith today, and he could be in line for more time at second base with Smith off to a really tough start. Duran has a .778 OPS in 65 plate appearances, compared to .523 in 98 plate appearances for Smith. Of course, both could play if Brandon Nimmo needs a little time off with his leg injury.

Over his last 10 games, Duran is hitting .276/.364/.379 with four RBI and three steals. Over that same timeframe, Josh Smith is hitting .216/.362/.270 with four RBI and one steal in 15 games, so it makes some sense for the Rangers to give Duran a few extra starts at second base to see if he can continue to give them solid production.

Smith has struggled with just one hit over his last three games. The 28-year-old will get a breather with Ezequiel Duran drawing the start at the hot corner in Smith’s absence.

Smith’s cold start has gotten him dropped from sixth to eighth in the Rangers lineup, but it’s partly been bad luck; he entered the day 3-for-32 with no extra-base hits in spite of having collected 10 hard-hit balls. That bad luck continued initially today, as he was robbed of a homer by Rob Refsnyder in the second inning. However, he did get two line drive singles afterwards, raising his average to .143.

Carter sat against a left-hander on Wednesday, but the Reds will start all right-handed pitchers this weekend, which is good news for Carter, Josh Smith, and Joc Pederson. They can all be started in leagues where you can make mid-week lineupm changes.

With left-hander Trevor Rogers on the mound, the Rangers will sit a few of their left-handed hitters. Smith has made one start this season against a lefty, but has sat out the last two. Andrew McCutchen will start in right field and bat fifth, Ezequiel Duran will start at second base and hit eighth, and Sam Haggerty will start in left field and bat ninth.