Dodgers slugger Max Muncy has been out since mid-Could as a consequence of an indirect pressure however doesn’t sound nearer to returning than he was on the time of his unique placement on the injured record. Muncy informed the Dodgers beat yesterday that he lately skilled a setback in his rehab when he felt ache in his ribcage whereas swinging a bat (X hyperlink by way of Mike DiGiovanna of the L.A. Instances). He’s at the moment shut down from all baseball exercise, and there’s no timetable for his return.
Muncy, 33, acquired out to a typical begin in 2024, hitting for a low common that was largely offset by a glut of walks and loads of extra-base hits. He’s batting .223/.323/.475 with 9 homers and eight doubles by way of 167 journeys to the plate this season — about 24% higher than league-average manufacturing, by measure of wRC+. The slugger’s 12.6% stroll price is 4 share factors north of common however nonetheless represents a career-low mark (excepting his 2015 season, when he acquired solely 112 plate appearances in his preliminary name to the large leagues). Muncy’s 29.9% strikeout price, in the meantime, is the very best of his profession.
In Muncy’s absence, utilityman Enrique Hernandez has seen the majority of the workload at third base. The offensive struggles that plagued Hernandez early within the season haven’t but subsided, nevertheless. He’s hitting .171/.209/.244 since Muncy landed on the 10-day IL and simply .198/.255/.278 on the season general. Veterans Miguel Rojas and Chris Taylor have each seen fleeting time on the sizzling nook as nicely. The Dodgers have had loads of struggles from the bottom-third of their lineup all through the season even with out Muncy’s harm, and dedicating common time to Hernandez in lieu of Muncy hasn’t helped issues.
Poor manufacturing from the decrease portion of the lineup is a flaw of this Dodgers membership however hasn’t prevented the group from constructing a snug lead within the Nationwide League West. Buoyed by large offensive performances from the star-studded prime of the lineup that includes Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernandez, the Dodgers maintain a lead of 6.5 video games over the second-place Padres, tying them with the Phillies for the second-largest division lead in all of Main League Baseball. (The Brewers’ seven-game lead within the NL Central is at the moment the biggest division lead in MLB.)
