Muncy: `I just need to take a step back for a couple days'
Almost eight months after Jace Peterson ran into his left arm on a play at first base, Max Muncy will take a break from trying to play through the damage that was done.
Muncy was placed on the injured list Saturday — officially for left elbow inflammation — receiving a mental and physical break from a season that has been “a grind” from the start.
“It's one of those things where it's ingrained in me that I need to be out there playing no matter what,” he said. “I've been grinding through some things. ... I just need to take a step back for a couple days and just reset and give my body a chance to heal up.”
Muncy said the elbow discomfort “flared up” recently after a couple of defensive plays during the series in Washington. But in truth, the lingering discomfort and lack of strength from the dislocated elbow and UCL tear he suffered on the last day of the 2021 regular season has been a constant.
“I wouldn't say it's gotten worse. It's one of those things where it's been there all year,” he said Saturday. “Then I try to make a play running into the net and jam up my elbow a little bit. It's kind of flaring up. So if there was ever a time to maybe take a step back and give it a chance to rest up, now is definitely it.”
It has been evident to anyone watching Muncy's at-bats that the elbow injury has been a factor in his .150 average and .591 OPS through the first quarter of the season. But Muncy was unwilling to use that to explain his struggles.
“I will let you guys say whatever you want on that. I will never ever use that as an excuse,” Muncy said. “I'm not saying it hasn't been there. But I'm not ever going to use that as an excuse.
“Maybe like subconsciously it's been there. Maybe not quite getting through the ball like I'm used to. But it's not something I'm thinking about. It just kind of happens. Like I said, I'm not going to use my elbow as an excuse. I haven't been good. But maybe it's there. Maybe it's not.”
Muncy said there are no plans for additional testing to see if there is any remaining damage to his UCL. There has also never been any discussion about surgery, he insisted. Damaged UCLs are the target of Tommy John surgery.
“Surgery was never an option for me,” he said. “It was never put on the table for me just because – you'd have to ask the doctors to medically explain why. I don't understand it. But they said that it was never an option.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he told Muncy not to pick up a bat during the four-game series in Arizona this weekend.
“You're not going to forget how to swing,” Roberts said. “So take the four days and then, once we get through next week, start fresh, whatever that means.”
Muncy said he isn't thinking about how long he might be sidelined but acknowledged that “I just need to be a little smarter about it” than he was at the beginning of the year when “I maybe should have taken a couple days.”
Muncy was asked if, in hindsight, he should not have started the season on the active roster.
“I felt like I was ready to go,” he said.
“I don't know. Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know if I have a good answer for that one.”
Pillar rising
In addition to putting Muncy on the IL, the Dodgers made a series of roster moves Saturday, adding outfielder Kevin Pillar and right-hander Michael Grove from Triple-A Oklahoma City, sending righthander Ryan Pepiot back to OKC and moving reliever Tommy Kahnle to the 60day IL. Kahnle, who has a bone bruise in his elbow, will not be eligible to return until mid-July at the earliest now.
For Pillar, the promotion is validation of his decision to sign a minor-league contract with the Dodgers this spring. The veteran of nine big-league seasons spent his first day in camp this spring in the team's “hitter's lab,” getting feedback that pointed him in the direction of some changes in his swing mechanics and approach. Pillar hit .315 with nine home runs and a 1.034 OPS in 36 games at Oklahoma City.