Max Muncy has been unavailable since May 17 when the Los Angeles Dodgers placed him on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain.
At the time, the Dodgers were hopeful that he could return after a minimum stint on the IL. In his place the Dodgers called up Miguel Vargas, who has been having a wonderful season with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Muncy does have experience dealing with this type of injury before, having similar issues during the 2021 season in which he did manage to return to action after just 10 days.
Now a week removed from when the injury occurred, it seems as if it has not been healing the way both Muncy and the Dodgers hoped it would, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
#Dodgers Dave Roberts backed off a little bit on Max Muncy being ready to start a rehab soon and return "some time next week." Said Muncy is still feeling the oblique strain and will proceed cautiously. Not putting a date on anything yet
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) May 24, 2024
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not completely shut down a somewhat timely return for Muncy, but all signs are pointing to a more prolonged absence being the most likely outcome. While it certainly could be a blow for the Dodgers, it is one that they have the means to overcome in the short-term.
Muncy has provided some good value to the Dodgers this season with solid defense at third base and the 28th highest slugging percentage in the Majors.
Defensively, a combination of Kiké Hernández and Miguel Rojas will get the job done for however long Muncy is out. Times like this over the course of a long season is when having quality depth pieces with positional versatility pays off for an organization.
Rojas has been having a solid season of his own offensively, but the real key to replacing Muncy’s offensive production will be Vargas. He has had limited appearances since being called up, but that could increase if Muncy is indeed out of action for an extended period of time.
In 139 at-bats with OKC, Vargas had a .295 average, 1.019 on-base plus slugging percentage, eight home runs, and 14 doubles. It remains to be seen if that can translate to the Majors, but Vargas had earned the opportunity for a call up at the very least.
Miguel Vargas can look to another Dodgers rookie for advice
Vargas only has one hit in seven at-bats this season as he adjusts to facing Major League pitching. Fortunately for him there is already another Dodgers rookie with experience working through this process.
Andy Pages had his share of struggles following his call up back in April, but has since become an everyday contributor for the Dodgers. Pages’ mindset is what allowed him to overcome a 2-for-14 start at the plate with eight strikeouts and drew praise from his manager.
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