When Max Muncy first went down on Wednesday night time, clutching his left knee and writhing in ache after a collision with Chicago White Sox baserunner Michael A. Taylor on a steal try at third base, Dodgers normal supervisor Brandon Gomes couldn’t assist however 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.’”
Regardless of having his knee bent awkwardly, gruesomely inward, Muncy escaped with solely a bone bruise. There have been no ligament tears. No structural harm. No season-ending disaster.
Dodger Max Muncy grimaces as he holds his left knee after colliding with White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.
(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Occasions)
“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 overlook roughly six weeks. However even that timeline would give him a month-plus earlier than the playoffs to try to rediscover the swing that made him one of many hottest hitters in baseball the previous two months.
And since Muncy’s harm 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 these contingency plans that had been working by way of his thoughts 48 hours earlier. His entrance workplace wasn’t urgently scouring the commerce market in search of an instantaneous substitute.
As an alternative, Gomes and Roberts insisted the Dodgers’ commerce deadline plans are unlikely to be altered within the wake of Muncy’s harm — with the group content material to depend on inside choices now, whereas awaiting Muncy’s return later this 12 months.
“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.”
Followers cheer after Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy hit a three-run homer in opposition to the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on June 22.
(Luke Johnson/Los Angeles Occasions)
Commerce hypothesis surrounding the Dodgers’ third base place is nothing new.
Earlier this 12 months, when Muncy was struggling mightily by way of the opening month of the 12 months, there have been rising calls from the fan base for the group to discover a extra productive substitute earlier than the July 31 deadline.
These days, nonetheless, Muncy had quieted such noise with among the best stretches of his profession. Earlier than getting damage, he was batting .308 over his previous 46 video games with 12 dwelling runs, 48 RBIs and extra walks (32) than strikeouts (26).
“When he’s not in the lineup,” Roberts mentioned, “our offense tapers off.”
Whether or not Muncy can return to such ranges of manufacturing, in fact, gained’t develop into clear till effectively after the deadline passes. However discovering impression bats on this 12 months’s commerce market won’t be a straightforward process, particularly at third base.
Nolan Arenado has lengthy been linked to the Dodgers in commerce rumors. However he has career-lows in batting common (.247) and OPS (.701) this 12 months, and continues to be due some $40 million over the following two-and-a-half seasons on his contract.
The Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado watches his double within the sixth inning of a recreation in opposition to the Cleveland Guardians in Cleveland on June 27.
(Sue Ogrocki / Related Press)
Decrease-profile names corresponding to Eugenio Suárez, Ryan McMahon and Ramón Urías (who could possibly be a greater roster match for the Dodgers as a utility weapon) may be moved. However the Dodgers gained’t be determined to overpay for an impression bat understanding Muncy ought to be again effectively earlier than 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 12 months’s World Collection run regardless of lacking three months within the common season with an indirect harm. “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.”
Within the meantime, the Dodgers plan to include Tommy Edman at third base, the place he has 94 profession big-league appearances (largely in 2019 and 2020 with the St. Louis Cardinals, earlier than 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 can even see time at third, usually in opposition to left-handed pitching, whereas triple-A prospect Alex Freeland may provide depth from the minors if wanted.
Hyeseong Kim, in the meantime, also needs to 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 round on the finish of the month, the Dodgers can have extra data to work with — not solely on the state of Muncy’s rehab, but additionally about how their lineup fares with out him.
With a top-five farm system within the sport, in response to MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, they are going to have the ammunition to make a splash if wanted.
However for now, their expectation is that Muncy’s harm gained’t pressure them right into a drastic midseason roster makeover. They’re hopeful that what initially seemed to be a season-altering second can be nothing greater than a short lived velocity bump of 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].”
