Struggling Muncy likely headed for injured list
PHOENIX » The Dodgers are ready to do what they probably should have done at the start of the season — put Max Muncy on the injured list.
Muncy was not in the starting lineup Thursday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, his .150 batting average and .591 OPS reason enough to sit him down. But Kevin Pillar joined the team in Arizona and will likely take Muncy’s spot on the active roster once the Dodgers clear a 40-man roster spot for him.
Muncy has been unwilling to cite last year’s elbow injury as the reason for his offensive struggles. But there are clearly lingering problems from last year’s significant injury on the final day of the 2021 regular season. Muncy later revealed that he had suffered a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament.
He spent the offseason rehabbing the injury rather than having surgery. But Muncy acknowledged in spring training that it “might not be back to normal until next year.”
Muncy has played through the injury through the first seven weeks of the season but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he recently aggravated it on a pair of defensive plays in Washington — a dive for a ground ball and running into the wall in foul territory while chasing a pop-up. That might be the impetus for a trip to the IL now.
“To say that he can play physically — yes,” Roberts said. “But is it impeding his performance? And potentially his health? Probably, most likely.
“It’s something that just hasn’t felt right. But players all the time don’t feel right. But they’re not in a situation where they could have taken a path to have a surgery or not have a surgery either. We chose the path to stay the course and rehab, which we feel is the best course of action. But to kind of listen to the body a little bit might help too.”
Roberts acknowledged that, in hindsight, starting the season on the active roster might not have been the best choice for Muncy.
“As we kind of in retrospect look at Max’s situation, there wasn’t a whole lot of spring and trying to ramp up and get him ready for the season, albeit a week late,” Roberts said. “He’s been going through it and trying to figure it out himself. Just with the extra workload and everything like that and getting it banged and stuff like that, maybe this might be some way that we can take a step back.
“I think it’s smart for us to consider the IL. Obviously, the player doesn’t want to do that. But I think potentially for him and for us, it might be the best course of action.”
Muncy’s frustration has been obvious as he has failed to turn things around offensively. Roberts admitted some downtime on the IL might be good for Muncy as much mentally as physically.
“I’m sure there might be a little bit of exhale to say, ‘Okay, I can get out of this hot box and kind of focus on getting my arm right,’” Roberts said.
Treinen status
Rehabbing relief pitchers Blake Treinen and Tommy Kahnle joined the team in Arizona. According to Roberts, Treinen has not started a throwing program to return from his shoulder injury. Treinen, however, was reluctant to offer any update on his situation.
“I’m just working on getting healthy,” he said. “I’m doing the right steps. We have a lot of good people putting me in position to get back as quick as possible.”
Heaney progress
Left-hander Andrew Heaney threw another bullpen session, this time simulating three innings and throwing approximately 50 pitches.
He is tentatively scheduled to throw to hitters in a two-inning simulated-game setting Sunday at Camelback Ranch. Heaney could start a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment shortly after that.