Friday, August 15, 2025

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2025

Max Muncy goes on the IL with a right oblique strain just before the series with the San  Diego Padres.

Oh my!

According to Dave Roberts, Muncy will miss more than ten days, but he doesn’t think the injury will be season-ending.

When Muncy was out in July, the Dodgers had 10 wins and 14 losses. Without Muncy, the Dodgers’ offense was almost nonexistent.

The next ten days will decide the National League Western Division. While the Padres improved their already-good bullpen at the trading deadline, the Dodgers obtained Brock Stewart, who is on the IL with right shoulder inflammation. The Padres improved their offense, and the Dodgers obtained Alex Call, who has a .150 batting average as a Dodger.

And Call isn’t in Friday’s lineup. Michael Conforto is in left field, and his batting average is the lowest in Major League Baseball.

The difference between now and July is Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts have had good offensive production for the last two weeks. They had no offensive production in July. Shohei Ohtani has been good offensive player, but since he has begun pitching, his offensive production has decreased even though he has 42 home runs.

Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández, the backup third basemen, are on the IL. Before Friday’s game, Hernández, Alex Freeland, and Freeman were taking ground balls at third base. Miguel Rojas must play second base without Edman and Hyeseong Kim on the IL.

Since August 4^th, the Dodger bullpen has been horrible. They have been overworked since March. The relievers have been tired and underperforming. Alex Vesia and Anthony Banda have struggled. The Dodgers’ bullpen has Edgardo Henriquez and Ben Casparius who are rookies. Casparius has been great, but now, he looks worn out because he has filled many roles.

Since Blake Treinen has returned from the IL after three months on the IL with right forearm sprain, he hasn’t looked like himself. The Dodgers don’t have Evan Phillips, Michael Kopech, or Brusdar Graterol. The Dodgers picked up Alexis Diaz after the Cincinnati Reds, but Diaz has struggled in a Dodger uniform.

When the Dodgers have Muncy in their lineup, they average 5.8 runs per game, and without Muncy, they average 3.4 runs per game.

The Dodgers must play better without Muncy if they want to go to the 2025 postseason.