The Los Angeles Dodgers have started to pull away from their competition in the National League West division race, despite a multitude of injuries to key players.
Among them are Max Muncy, Blake Snell and Edwin Diaz. Muncy’s is the least-serious issue, but he was dealt a major scare during a collision on Thursday night against the Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, Snell and Diaz are recovering from left elbow surgery and right elbow surgery, respectively.
In addition, the Dodgers are also without Teoscar Hernández, Tommy Edman, Kiké Hernández, Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, Evan Phillips, Ben Casparius, Brusdar Graterol, and Brock Stewart at the moment.
Max Muncy
Muncy collided with Ildemaro Vargas at first base on Thursday and immediately left the game for concussion testing and due to shortness of breath.
Muncy cleared concussion protocol, and after the game, he and Dave Roberts shared they avoided a major injury despite the brutal collision.
Roberts shared a positive update on Muncy, saying he’s just dealing with some minor issues and should start on Saturday.
“Max, he’s doing well,” Roberts said. “He’s got a little bruise on his nose. He’s a little sore, overall soreness, but feels good. Says that he’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”
The Dodgers don’t anticipate needing to manage or monitor Muncy moving forward.
“I think he’ll be fine,” Roberts said. “He’ll play tomorrow and Sunday, and then we will be off on Monday for travel, and then I think he should be good to go after that.”
Muncy pinch-hit on Friday night but struck out on three pitches.
Blake Snell
Snell began his throwing program for the first time since undergoing left elbow surgery to remove a loose body from his elbow.
Snell was seen on the field at Dodger Stadium playing catch in the outfield from about 60 feet.
“So he was excited about that,” Roberts said. “Came out of it well.”
There is still no set timeline for the left-hander’s return, but it will be a lengthy process regardless.
“I think a lot of times when a guy is coming off surgery, it’s different than in the offseason, but the buildup is like any season,” Roberts said. “There’s the rehab part of it, the progression.
“I don’t know about the timeline, but it’s going to be a ways. We’re going to make sure that we take care of him. But I know Blake’s going to want to speed this process up.”
Edwin Díaz
Díaz has also been building his right arm back up after having loose bodies removed, as well. He has thrown on back-to-back days multiple times now and is starting to throw from longer distances.
The closer has been progressing well, but his return date is still likely to come after the All-Star break.
“I think Edwin is certainly ahead of Blake, obviously,” Roberts said. “So he is playing catch. He’s gone back-to-back a couple different times, stretching it out.
“So I would assume that once he stretches it out more, then there will be the flat ground, and then at some point in time, he’ll get on the mound.
“But he’s progressing really nicely. All positive that way.”
If you love our reporting, choose DodgerBlue.com as a preferred source on Google.
