March 22nd, 2022 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka When Dodgers first baseman Max Muncy injured his left elbow in the final game of the 2021 regular season, it looked bad … REAL bad. But it wasn’t until late November that we learned just how bad it really was when he revealed to MLB Network’s Alanna Rizzo that he had already had Tommy John surgery on it.
“It’s a little slow. I’m not recovering as quick as I would like, but that’s what happens when you do some serious damage to your body,” Muncy told Rizzo at the time. “A torn UCL is a slow process, but we’re coming back. Everything is going to plan, and thankfully it is the offseason, so we can come back from that.”
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
On Monday afternoon, the 33-year-old Midland, TX native and fifth-round draft pick in 2012 by the Oakland Athletics out of Baylor University appeared in his first game since the injury in a Spring Training contest against the Chicago White Sox at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ.
“It felt good to be back,” Muncy said, following his four-inning Spring Training 2022 debut, going 0-for-1 with a walk and a strikeout in his two plate appearances. “We’re working through some things, but the most important thing is to get out there and get some game action.
“The elbow felt fine doing ABs against guys in the backfield, but you get a little adrenaline going and see how it feels with those types of swings. It felt good today,” Muncy added. “Swing is a different matter, but we have to worry about the elbow first. But it felt good.”
Muncy said that the most important thing is loosening up his elbow, which tends to feel tight, saying that getting “the muscles moving again” should help.
“It hasn’t been bad by any means; you just have to get it going again,” Muncy said. “It’s like if you’ve been sitting in a car for a long time, your legs get stiff. It’s almost like that. But we’re close, I think.”
Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts added that he could sense that Muncy was getting “a little anxious and antsy” to get back on the field.
“I think with any injury that a player goes through – whether it’s a position player or a pitcher – when you come back to health, you don’t want to compromise your mechanics,” Roberts said postgame. “That’s something the hitting guys have been on top of. The most important piece is that he feels healthy and strong so his mechanics aren’t compromised. Right now, all signs point towards there being a timing adjustment. But as far as where he’s at physically and mechanically, he’s in a good place.”
Welcome back, Max!
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
I thought Muncy’s swings were really good — in fact, much better than Bellinger’s at bats.
Thank our lucky stars that Muncy looks good. He is a big key to this teams fortune.
What do you think of the Pillar signing.
I actually like the signing. I see him as a backup for Pollock, should AJ land on the IL.
you spelled “when” wrong 😀
I see what you did there.
Ron,
do you have definitive knowledge that he had surgery or are you extrapolating?
not giving you grief, just trying to find out for sure. i cant find an official release either way.
as a direct result of the statement to Allana Rizzo, matt snyder came to this conclusion.
“There are non-surgical ways to treat the injury and given that this is Muncy’s non-throwing arm, it seems that’s the route he and the Dodgers have chosen”.
I indeed misspoke … I think.
There are so many charades behind all of this that no one really knows for sure if Muncy had TJ surgery or not, but most indications are that he did not, opting for the re-hab route instead.
I imagine that at some point we may know the truth.
…or not.