Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES – Looks like Maxwell will be swinging the silver hammer in LA for a bit longer. The Dodgers announced on Monday that the team has come to an agreement with infielder Max Muncy on a one-year contract extension for $13.5 million for the 2023 season with a club option for the 2024 season for $10 million with incentives.
If you look at 2022 on paper, the season looks like a bit of a mess. The 31-year-ol Muncy has played in 99 games this season and he is hitting .190 with 15 doubles, 16 homers and 47 RBI.
However, those anemic looking stats don’t tell the whole story. Coming off a season-ending injury on the last day of the regular season last year, Muncy did not have his usual off-season’s worth of work and preparation and instead had to wait around until his elbow healed up before he could do anything. He was on the field on Opening Day, but anybody could see something was off. But you have to hand it to Dave Roberts and the Dodgers’ staff. They didn’t panic and bench Muncy for any extended period of time. Instead, they left him out there day after day, hoping that he’d find his way out of the wilderness on his own.
And in the last thirty games or so, their patience has been rewarded. In the month of August, Max is batting .328 (19-for-58) with five doubles, seven homers, 15 RBI and a 1.185 OPS. Last year, he slashed .249/.368/.527 with 36 homers and 94 RBI, setting career-highs in homers, total bases (262) and extra base hits (64).
The two-time All-Star has been with the Dodgers five seasons, recording three 35+ homer seasons and has amassed 133 homers in five years. In his Dodger career, he is a .236 hitter (452-for-1914) with 134 homers and 345 RBI in 579 games.
If the Dodgers can get something close to that level of production for the rest of the season, they could very well run the table.
Welcome back to the fold, Max. We knew you had it in you all along.
