With Max Muncy due back, Dodgers stick with trade

When Max Muncy first went down on Wednesday evening, clutching his left knee and writhing in ache after a collision with Chicago White Sox baserunner Michael A. Taylor on a steal attempt at third base, Dodgers common supervisor Brandon Gomes couldn’t help but let his thoughts go to a darkish place.

“Obviously, [there were] a lot of emotions,” Gomes mentioned. “From a coping mechanism in my head, it was like, ‘OK, he’s done for the year. We’re gonna have to figure out what the next path is. We have to be prepared for whatever is coming.’”

What got here the next day, however, was unexpectedly excellent news.

Despite having his knee bent awkwardly, gruesomely inward, Muncy escaped with only a bone bruise. There have been no ligament tears. No structural injury. No season-ending disaster.

“We’ve had a lot more [injury situations] where we’ve gone in optimistic and then come out the other side not as optimistic,” Gomes mentioned. “So it was nice to have that turned on its head and know that, ‘Hey, he’s gonna be out there.’”

On Thursday, Muncy mentioned he’s anticipated to miss roughly six weeks. But even that timeline would give him a month-plus before the playoffs to attempt and rediscover the swing that made him one of the most popular hitters in baseball the previous two months.

And because Muncy’s damage was to the decrease half of his physique, supervisor Dave Roberts famous, the hope is that “it’s not something that should affect the swing” when he does return.

“With the time we have, there’s nothing pressing as far as needing to rush him back,” Roberts mentioned. “I think we’re in a good spot.”

That’s why, as of Friday, Gomes had shelved those contingency plans that have been operating through his thoughts 48 hours earlier. His entrance workplace wasn’t urgently scouring the trade market wanting for an prompt alternative.

Instead, Gomes and Roberts insisted the Dodgers’ trade deadline plans are unlikely to be altered in the wake of Muncy’s damage — with the crew content material to rely on inner choices now, while awaiting Muncy’s return later this yr.

“Knowing the certainty of Max coming back at some point,” Roberts mentioned, “I don’t think that will really impact our thinking going into the deadline.”

“Even if [his recovery] is way slow,” Gomes added, “you have a full month of baseball before we hit the playoffs. So we’re giving him that time to get back into a good place and try to set a good foundation, like we try to do with all of our guys, to be prepared for that stretch run.”

Fans cheer after Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy hit a three-run homer against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on June 22.

(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Times)

Trade hypothesis surrounding the Dodgers’ third base place is nothing new.

Earlier this yr, when Muncy was struggling mightily through the opening month of the yr, there have been growing calls from the fanbase for the crew to discover a more productive alternative before the July 31 deadline.

Lately, however, Muncy had quieted such noise with one of the best stretches of his profession. Before getting harm, he was batting .308 over his previous 46 video games with 12 home runs, 48 RBIs and more walks (32) than strikeouts (26).

“When he’s not in the lineup,” Roberts mentioned, “our offense tapers off.”

Whether Muncy can return to such ranges of manufacturing, of course, received’t develop into clear until properly after the deadline passes. But discovering influence bats on this yr’s trade market may not be an straightforward activity, particularly at third base.

Nolan Arenado has long been linked to the Dodgers in trade rumors. But he has career-lows in batting average (.247) and OPS (.701) this yr, and is still due some $40 million over the next two-and-a-half seasons on his contract.

The Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado watches his double in the sixth inning of a sport against the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland on June 27.

(Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)

Lower-profile names such as Eugenio Suárez, Ryan McMahon and Ramón Urías (who could possibly be a higher roster match for the Dodgers as a utility weapon) may also be moved. But the Dodgers received’t be determined to overpay for an influence bat figuring out Muncy needs to be back properly before the beginning of the playoffs.

“Obviously, he’s been so dialed in, one of the best hitters in the game over the last six weeks, so there’s always some [question of], ‘How are we going to get back to that spot?’” Gomes acknowledged of Muncy.

“But I don’t think that is something that Max has never done before,” he added, referencing Muncy’s potential to contribute to final yr’s World Series run despite lacking three months in the common season with an indirect damage. “So there’s a comfort level. We have some time. We’ll make sure that he’s eased back in. We have enough technology that he can take at-bats and see pitches before he ever has to go out on rehab and is back in a major-league game. We should be getting some approximation of what his swing was, and then use that time to get into a rhythm.”

In the meantime, the Dodgers plan to incorporate Tommy Edman at third base, where he has 94 profession big-league appearances (largely in 2019 and 2020 with the St. Louis Cardinals, before Arenado’s arrival there).

“It’s a position I’m comfortable with,” Edman mentioned Friday, after taking grounders at third at the beginning of his pregame work. “The hops [there] are weird, so you gotta play a little bit more one-handed … But it’s still the infield. You still gotta work on the footwork, just like you would at second and short. Catching the ball, getting behind your throws. It’s a lot of the same concepts.”

Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas will also see time at third, usually against left-handed pitching, while triple-A prospect Alex Freeland may offer depth from the minors if needed.

Hyeseong Kim, meanwhile, ought to also get a bump in taking part in time at second base on days Edman is at third.

“It’s gonna be a good opportunity for him,” Roberts mentioned of Kim. “It’ll be good to know more and get him some more experience.”

When the deadline rolls around at the top of the month, the Dodgers could have more data to work with — not only on the state of Muncy’s rehab, but also about how their lineup fares without him.

With a top-five farm system in the game, according to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, they’ll have the ammunition to make a splash if needed.

But for now, their expectation is that Muncy’s damage received’t power them into a drastic midseason roster makeover. They are hopeful that what initially appeared to be a season-altering second might be nothing more than a non permanent pace bump in their pursuit of a second consecutive title.

“We’re playing good baseball as a team. We’re in a good position division-wise right now,” Gomes mentioned. “So if we keep doing that, we can weather [Muncy’s absence].”