The Los Angeles Dodgers lineup has been without Max Muncy for well over a month since he suffered a strained oblique all the way back on May 15.
With some difficulties, the Dodgers have managed to navigate his loss for the most part thanks to the recent herculean effort of Shohei Ohtani, along with a few other players stepping up.
The Dodgers lineup could certainly benefit from Muncy’s presence, especially with the additional loss of Mookie Betts, and the fact that his replacements haven’t been effective at replacing his production.
Muncy has been dealing with a very stubborn oblique injury and that has caused multiple setbacks and even a move to the 60-day injured list that included a shutdown of swinging and rotational activities.
His placement on the 60-day IL means that at best he is eligible to return after the All-Star break, which will mark a two month absence.
The good news is that Muncy could begin swinging once again sometime this week, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Muncy could start swinging a bat this week, Roberts said. But he was moved to the 60-day IL last week and will not be eligible to return until after the All-Star break.
It is a positive step in the right direction to have him ready to return to the Dodgers as soon as possible when he becomes eligible sometime in mid-July.
Muncy’s 2024 season has been more or less what is expected from him at this point in terms of hitting for average, but the Dodgers especially miss his slugging ability.
His .475 slugging percentage would rank him inside the top-15 in the National League, and his .798 on-base plus slugging percentage would rank inside the top-25 in the NL.
Cavan Biggio has taken the lion’s share of playing time at third base since coming over in a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays and hasn’t done a lot to replace Muncy’s spot in the lineup. He has just five hits in nine games with the Dodgers and no extra-base hits.
Kiké Hernández has also mixed in at third base, but the production he has provided has arguably been worse than Biggio’s, leaving the Dodgers with limited options.
Max Muncy’s opinion on oblique injuries
Part of the reason that Muncy has been out so long and has suffered multiple setbacks in his recovery has been because of the nature of oblique injuries.
Muncy stated that it is the worst injury a position player can have, and for good reason.
These types of injuries are tricky in that rest is the only course of action for recovery, mostly because there is no training that can be performed to strengthen the muscle group.
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