Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — We all remember what happened to poor Max Muncy last year. Because the Dodgers were in a dogfight for the NL West, Muncy was on the field on the final day of the season and suffered a season ending injury on a collision at first base will Milwaukee’s Jace Peterson. Instead of resting and prepping for the playoffs, Muncy was forced to play and it derailed his team’s World Series dreams for the year.
This year, much different story. The Dodgers have an insurmountable lead in the division, and are on the cusp of locking up home field advantage throughout the playoffs (two things that would have come in handy last season). So, instead of pushing their players to the final day, the team has the luxury to give players time to heal up from nagging injuries. Such is the case with Dodgers infielder Max Muncy.
Muncy had a cortisone shot in his irritated left knee, and the Dodgers want to give him rest now in the hope that he will be closer to 100 percent in the playoffs. Manager Dave Roberts said an imaging scan about a week ago showed no structural damage.
“It’s something he’s been dealing with for about a month,” Roberts said. “Over time, it got more irritated. So we thought this was a good time to nip it.”
It was thought that the knee issue is related to some tweaks that Munce has made in the way he loads his swing at the plate. Recently, the Dodgers’ slugger has incorporated a little step back into his approach and that has put added pressure on that back (left) knee when he swings. So rather than let the injury keep barking the rest of the year, the Dodgers’ medical staff thought it best to deal with it now.
Lately, the approach at the plate has borne fruit. Over the last 30 games, Muncy has 9 homers and an OPS of .933. Hopefully, the break will be enough to heal up the knee, but not enough to cool him off. Roberts indicated that Muncy might be available to pinch-hit on Sept. 10.
In the meantime, look for Justin Turner to man third, and Chris Taylor to continue to play second base (Gavin Lux is still a few days away as well).
