Cody Snavely
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been without third baseman Max Muncy since the left-handed power bat was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 17th with an oblique injury.
Despite Dodgers manager Dave Roberts‘ optimism on the injury, stating the team was looking at maybe ten to fifteen days max until Muncy was back in the lineup, we are now entering mid-July, and Max Muncy has not even begun swinging a back regularly.
While Muncy has done fielding work, throwing, and even running, whenever the thirty-three-year-old third baseman starts to take hacks with the bat, his oblique flares up, restarting the whole rehab process.
It has been hard to replicate the presence of Muncy in the Dodgers lineup as the current platoon of Kiké Hernández, Chris Taylor, and Cavan Biggio are hitting a collective .174/.276/.267 compared to the .223/.323/.475 slash line and .798 OPS and 124 OPS+.
The timetable for Max Muncy’s return is unclear. Prior to the all-star break, Muncy was transferred to the 60-day injured list, making him ineligible to return until today, July 16th. However, the Dodgers are looking at a hopeful mid-August return.
If Muncy suffers another setback and is out not only until later September but the rest of the season, the Dodgers will need another trade deadline in the coming week as there is no clear third base replacement on the team long-term. But who is available?
Angels in the Infield: Why Rengifo is a perfect fit
Despite the loss of Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Angels President of Baseball Operations felt good about his team’s chances of competing for a postseason spot. With the team still having Mike Trout and newly hired manager Ron Washington, along with an expanded postseason format, you could argue it was possible.
However, the Angels have missed the postseason every year since 2014, when the team was swept out of the American League Division Series by the Kansas City Royals. It is the only postseason appearance of Mike Trout’s Hall of Fame career.
Despite having the most talented player for six seasons in Shohei Ohtani and Trout in his prime, the Angels failed to make any noise, which prompted Ohtani to leave in free agency, going to the freeway rival Los Angeles Dodgers.
Currently, the Angels are in fourth place in the American League West, fourteen games under .500, and just five games up on the Oakland Athletics. With the July 30th trade deadline less than two weeks away, Angels General Manager Perry Minasian must swallow his pride and sell off his assets by this deadline.
One player who could potentially shape the Angels’ future is Luis Rengifo, the team’s versatile utility man. As the trade deadline approaches, Rengifo has become a hot commodity, with several teams, including the Dodgers, expressing interest. His skill set could be a perfect fit for the Dodgers, making this a trade worth watching.
This potential trade is not the first time Rengifo’s name has been linked to the Dodgers. In the 2020 offseason, the Dodgers made a move to acquire the versatile infielder in a deal that was rumored to involve Joc Pederson and a promising young player, Andy Pages. However, the deal fell through, reportedly due to Angels owner Arte Moreno’s reluctance to trade with the Dodgers.
In hindsight, the no-trade possibly helped the Angels, as Rengifo has been one of the team’s most valuable players, having an OPS+ of 113 since that season.
Rengifo, despite his limited playing time this season, is delivering a career-best performance, hitting an impressive .315/.358/.442 with a .800 OPS and a 123 OPS+. His K% ranking in the 93rd percentile further underscores his exceptional form.
The downside to Rengifo is that the advanced stats are not too kind for him to sustain this production, as Baseball Savant has the utility man ranked in the 73rd percentile in xBA (.268) and 28th in xwOBA (.301). Rengifo is also not the best defender either, ranking in the 3rd percentile in OAA, but his strongest position is third base, where he has a .973 fielding percentage.
Another factor that makes Rengifo an attractive trade prospect is his team control status. He is not a rental, as he is under team control until the end of the 2025 season, his final year of arbitration.
However, any trade with the Angels is next to impossible with Arte Moreno at the helm unless the owner eats his pride and decides to do the logical thing and trade with the Dodgers, who have had a top farm system for nearly a decade.
If that happens (unlikely), the Dodgers could also try to package former left-handed pitcher Tyler Anderson, who is having a better year two in Angel Red, posting a 2.97 ERA in 118 innings pitched.
Could the Dodgers & Rays connect on another trade?
Over the winter, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays connected for a massive trade that sent Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers, young right-handed pitcher Ryan Pepiot, and others to the Rays.
The Dodgers and Rays are each reaping the benefits. Glasnow is one of the best starters in the National League this season, atop the league in strikeouts, and earned his first career all-star nod. The Rays, on the other hand, get a cheap, controllable starter who is pitching well, with a 3.92 ERA across seventeen starts.
With the connection of Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Freidman, who was the former General Manager of the Rays from 2006-2014, could we see another deal between the two clubs?
The short answer is yes. With the Rays on the outside of the third American League wild card, they could be open for business with multiple players on the chopping block. But the name I am looking at is Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes.
Paredes, 25, is having a decent season in Tampa, hitting .261/.364/.459 with a .823 OPS and 136 OPS+. Like Rengifo, Paredes can move around the diamond, but third base is where Paredes has logged in seventy-seven games with a .974 fielding percentage.
What makes Paredes appealing is how similar he and Max Muncy are. The right-handed bat ranks in the 88th percentile in BB%, which is shown by his .364 on-base percentage. Paredes also ranks in the 90th percentile in Batting Run Value, 86th in whiff percentage, 77th in strikeout percentage, and 37th in OAA.
Paredes’ value to the team extends beyond his on-field performance. His long-term team control is a significant asset, with the righty locked up for the next three seasons after 2024. This means the Rays have him under control from his age twenty-six to twenty-eight seasons, a period crucial for player development. Given this, it would be challenging for the Rays to part ways with a player of such long-term value, potentially leading them to consider trading Arozarena, as suggested by ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Is Miggy Ro the logical option?
Since the Dodgers traded for shortstop Miguel Rojas, reuniting him with the franchise, it has been an unexpectedly intriguing two seasons. The original goal of that trade was for Rojas to be a utility bench bat against left-handed pitchers. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, this has not been the case, leading to a surprising shift in his role.
During the 2023 season, Gavin Lux was set to be the Dodgers’ primary shortstop. However, after a gruesome knee injury ended his season, Rojas, displaying remarkable resilience, stepped up as the Dodgers’ Opening Day shortstop.
The everyday role was hard on the 34-year-old shortstop, as he was not productive with the bat, hitting .236/.290/.322 and having an OPS+ of 66. However, it was an unfair position to drop on Vargas, who was also only a few months removed from right wrist surgery.
The Dodgers opted for the same plan in 2024, giving Lux the keys to earn the starting nod while also moving Mookie Betts as the new full-time second basemen. But as we all know, the Dodgers pivoted from Lux, moved him back to second, and gave Mookie Betts the challenge of shortstop, a position he had not played full-time since his senior year of high school.
Betts would play sixty-five games at shortstop until June 16th, when he was hit on the left wrist by a 96mph fastball, fracturing his hand. Since then, Rojas has been the everyday option at the position, and unlike last year, he is one of the Dodgers’ productive hitters with a .284/.330/.426 slash line and a .756 OPS and 113 OPS+.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did hint that the club would consider moving Betts back to second once he returns from injury and leaves at shortstop. There is a very real possibility they will plug Betts back into the position once he is off the injured list.
If the Dodgers were to leave Betts as a shortstop and opt to get Gavin Lux at second (if he’s still on the team), they could put Rojas at third base, which has been a problem as the trio of Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernández, and Cavan Biggio has hit .174/.276/.267 this season.
Despite Rojas’ limited experience at third base this season, his fielding percentage of .933 and -1 defensive runs saved suggest room for improvement. As a ‘glove first’ player, Rojas could potentially step up to the challenge at the hot corner, particularly if Muncy remains out for the season.
The Dodgers could also move Rojas back to second base or platoon him with Gavin Lux, but given how bad Lux has been offensively this season, the chances of Rojas getting the everyday nod are higher.
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