When Max Muncy left Wednesday’s spring training contest, every Los Angeles Dodgers fan collectively held their breath. While not completely out of the woods, Muncy’s latest injury update will have Dodgers fans breathing a sigh of relief.
Muncy confirmed that his MRI came back negative and that the swelling on his left hand has gone down considerably, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. However, Muncy has yet to swing a bat since his injury.
Still, the fact that his MRI came back negative means that the slugger avoided a serious injury. He’ll need to swing a bat to get back on the diamond. But with swelling going down and Opening Day not until late March, Muncy will have plenty of time to heal.
Despite all their massive additions throughout the offseason, losing Muncy would still be a major blow for Los Angeles. While he hit just .212 in 2023, Muncy blasted 36 home runs and 105 RBI, both career-highs. He ranked second on the team in both categories behind just Mookie Betts.
The Dodgers are all-in on a World Series title. Los Angeles added Shohei Ohtani to an already impressive lineup and both Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow to their pitching rotation. The light might be brighter, but Los Angeles is still looking to Max Muncy for his prodigious power.
Based on his latest update, Muncy looks on track to be able to provide it by Opening Day. He still needs to go through a few steps of his injury return. But barring a setback, LA is poised to soon have their slugger back in the lineup.
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