Dodgers’ Max Muncy Expected to Miss Six Weeks After Landing on IL
Life without Max Muncy began Thursday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox, winning 6-2 in the series finale.
Prior to first pitch, the club placed Muncy on the 10-day IL with a left knee bone bruise suffered during a scary collision with Michael A. Taylor during Wednesday’s contest. At the time, it was feared that the veteran third baseman may have suffered a season-ending injury.
The Dodgers sent him for an MRI, which, thankfully, didn’t reveal any structural damage. However, he’s expected to miss at least six weeks to allow his left knee to heal fully.
“It was tough news, but it was also great news,” Muncy told reporters pre-game, including MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. “In terms of when you look at the play and just the injury that could have happened, we possibly got [the] best-case scenario.”
Muncy suffered the injury on Taylor’s stolen-base attempt in the top of the sixth inning on Wednesday. The veteran White Sox outfielder slid head-first into third base, impacting the two-time All-Star’s left knee with his helmet as the out was recorded.
The 34-year-old infielder departed the contest before teammate Clayton Kershaw recorded his 3,000th career strikeout, having to listen to the historic moment from inside Los Angeles’ clubhouse.
While Muncy will return later this season, his IL placement puts an end to his remarkable recent stretch at the plate, as he’d been hitting .326/.445/.674 with nine home runs, 31 RBIs and a 206 wRC+ (100 league average) in 28 games since May 31.
In a corresponding move, the Dodgers recalled outfielder Esteury Ruiz from Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday. The young speedster – who set the AL rookie record with 67 stolen bases in 2023 – was acquired via trade from the Athletics on April 2.
“The healing part of it is going to take time,” manager Dave Roberts said. “But just to know that he’s going to be back for a good part of the back end of the season and beyond, we’re very relieved.”
Muncy will likely need to manage this ailment the rest of the way, even after he returns to game action, according to Roberts. But they’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.
In the meantime, the plan is for Miguel Rojas and Kiké Hernández to share primary duties at the hot corner during Muncy’s absence. Tommy Edman, who hasn’t played third since 2022, will also occasionally slide over to the left side of the infield.
On the season, Muncy – in the final season of a two-year, $24-million contract that includes a $10 million club option for 2026 – owns 13 home runs, 55 RBIs and a .250/.375/.457 slash line over 81 games during his eighth campaign with the Dodgers. He also owns a 134 wRC+ and has been worth 2.1 fWAR.
The left-handed-hitting third baseman only played 73 games last season due to a right oblique strain, but he returned in mid-August ahead of a deep playoff run that culminated in the franchise’s eighth World Series title – a feat he’ll look to repeat this year.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Ian D’Andrea. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.