The now two-time defending World Collection champion Dodgers made their first transfer of the offseason on Thursday.
It should guarantee a well-known face is again for his or her pursuit of a three-peat subsequent yr.
The crew picked up its $10 million membership possibility for third baseman Max Muncy, in keeping with an individual with information of the scenario not licensed to talk publicly, bringing the now longest-tenured member of the roster again for what shall be his ninth season in Los Angeles.
The choice was not shocking. This yr, Muncy had maybe his greatest all-around season on the plate since a 2021 marketing campaign through which he acquired MVP votes. He hit .243, his highest mark since that 2021 season, with 19 house runs, 67 RBIs and an .846 OPS in 100 video games. He atoned for a comparatively quiet postseason by hitting an important house run within the eighth inning of Recreation 7 of the World Collection, setting the stage for the crew’s ninth-inning comeback and eventual extra-innings, title-clinching victory.
Muncy was within the closing season of a two-year, $24 million extension he signed within the 2023 offseason. And at 35 years previous, accidents have been an issue for him in recent times (he was restricted this previous season by a knee contusion in July and an indirect pressure in August).
Nonetheless, the $10 million possibility was a relative cut price for a participant who, previous to second-half accidents, had shaken off a sluggish begin to the yr by being one of many hottest hitters within the majors in Might and June.
His return may also assist preserve a key a part of the membership’s veteran core intact, bringing again a participant who — within the wake of Clayton Kershaw’s retirement — has been with the Dodgers longer than anyone else.
Muncy’s 2025 season didn’t begin properly. After an offseason through which commerce rumors involving Nolan Arenado swirled, and a spring coaching spent working by means of the lingering after-effects of an indirect and rib harm that restricted him in 2024, Muncy hit .176 by means of his first 34 video games, and had just one house run.
In early Might, nonetheless, he began carrying glasses to deal with an astigmatism in his proper eye. Round that very same time, he additionally discovered a breakthrough together with his swing, one which helped him start punishing fastballs up the zone. From Might 7 to the top of June, he hit .315 with 12 house runs and a 1.039 OPS, top-of-the-line stretches of his 10-year, two-time All-Star profession.
That streak was derailed on July 2, when Muncy suffered his knee harm after getting slid into at third base. His return a month later was reduce quick, too, when his indirect started bothering him throughout a batting apply session in August.
These IL stints preceded a September stoop that carried into the postseason, when Muncy hit simply .173 coming into Recreation 7 of the World Collection.
However that evening, he collected three hits, had the pivotal eighth-inning house run off Trey Yesavage that obtained the Dodgers again inside a run, and have become one in every of six gamers to contribute to all three of the Dodgers’ current World Collection titles.
“It’s starting to get a little bit comfortable up here,” he joked from atop the stage on the Dodgers’ World Collection celebration on Monday. “Let’s keep it going.”
On Thursday, the crew ensured his run with the Dodgers will, for not less than yet one more season.
Alex Vesia’s possibility additionally picked up
The Dodgers on Thursday additionally picked up their $3.55 million membership possibility for reliever Alex Vesia in 2026, in keeping with a number of folks with information of the scenario not licensed to talk publicly. That was additionally not a shock, although Vesia nonetheless would’ve been underneath crew management and eligible for arbitration in the event that they hadn’t.
Vesia was one of many few constant performers within the Dodgers’ bullpen this yr, posting a 3.02 ERA in a career-high 68 appearances. He was additionally one in every of their most trusted aid arms within the playoffs, bouncing again from a two-run outing within the wild-card collection opener with 4 ⅓ scoreless innings the remainder of the way in which.
Vesia was not obtainable for the World Collection as he and his spouse handled what the crew described as a “deeply personal family matter.” However he figures to be a key cog of their bullpen once more subsequent season, in what shall be his final earlier than reaching free company.
