Thursday, July 3, 2025

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025

After seeing Max Muncy’s knee bend backward during Wednesday’s game, every Dodger fan thought Muncy would miss the remainder of the season with torn ligaments. However, the MRI showed only a bone bruise. Muncy can miss at least six weeks.

Whew!

Nevertheless, losing Muncy for any extended time is a huge blow for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After a very slow first month of the 2025 season, Muncy has become one of the most productive offensive players for the Dodgers. At the time of the injury, Muncy had a .250 batting average with 13 home runs, 55 RBI, and .832 OPS. With Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman slumping during June, Muncy played a vital role when the Dodgers had 17 wins and 10 losses. Now, the Dodgers need someone else to step up offensively to maintain their commanding lead over the rest of the National League Western Division.

Since the beginning of 2018, Max Muncy has been an integral part of the Dodgers. Before joining the Dodgers, Muncy was released by the Oakland A’s and was considering returning to Baylor University and finishing his college degree.

If an Oakland Athletic pitcher hadn’t broken Justin Turner’s wrist during the spring training of 2018, Muncy might not have had an opportunity to be a successful major leaguer. Nevertheless, Muncy has been a special Dodger. In 2018, Muncy had an eighteenth-inning in Game 3 of the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. He had 35 home runs in 2018 and 2019.

In 2020, Muncy played an integral role in the first Dodger World Championship since 1988. He had 12 home runs. He had a crucial grand slam in Game 3 of the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves.

Muncy’s best major league season was in 2021. He was the Dodger regular first baseman and played Gold Glove-caliber defense. He had 36 home runs and 105 RBI. On the last day of the 2021 season, a player with the Milwaukee Brewers ran into Muncy’s elbow and dislocated it. This injury was one of the main reasons why the Dodgers didn’t repeat as World Champions.

Not until this season could Muncy be the hitter that he was before the elbow injury. As the regular third baseman, he has worked on his defense. He is an above-average defensive third baseman even though the position was his least favorite. He should be named to the National League All-Star Game.

The Dodgers have Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas who can play a decent defensive third base. Before the game, Dave Roberts said that Tommy Edman would begin taking ground balls at third base, giving the Dodgers another option.

Nevertheless, no one can make up for Muncy’s offensive production. Michael Conforto has been a bust, but he has been showing signs of life at the plate. However, the Dodgers may explore the trade market to find a way to bolster their offense. This won’t make Andrew Friedman happy because he doesn’t like shopping for necessary pieces with inflated prices at the trading deadline.

Hearing that Max Muncy doesn’t have structural damage is the best case scenario, but the Dodgers will be without him. They must play well in Muncy’s absence.