November 3rd, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka In a move that may be a bit unpopular for some, the Dodgers announced on Thursday morning that they had re-signed 33-year-old third baseman Max Muncy to a two-year/$24 million contract extension that includes a $10 million club option for a third year in 2026.
As every Dodgers fan painfully knows, although the Midland, TX native and fifth round draft pick in 2012 by the Oakland Athletics out of Baylor University and signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in 2017 slugged a team second-best 36 home runs (three behind future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts‘ 39) and drove in a team second-best 105 RBIs (two behind Betts’ 107), he also struckout a team second-most 153 times (28 behind Dodgers outfielder James Outman‘s 181), a number of which ended potential big innings for the Dodgers.
But the thing that is of concern for many Dodgers fans about Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman‘s decision to re-sign Muncy is that he slashed a less-than-ideal .212 / .333 / .475 / .808 in 2023, which could indeed be cause for concern.
That said, Muncy’s 175 home runs as a Dodger rank sixth in L.A. Dodger history, two behind Hall of Famer Mike Piazza‘s 177, so there’s that.
Play Ball!
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Does the new extension include a no trade clause? I hope not.
There has been no mention of it, which I have to believe would have been if there was one.
All negativity aside, it’s hard to argue that Max doesn’t have one of the best eyes on the team. Although his strikeout numbers are high, he rarely swings at bad pitches.
I certainly hope for the best for and from him.
Nobody hit!!!!
Starting pitching was the big issue.
Muncy is a good player and contributor, hope for a return to 250 bavg.
A .250 BA would be GREAT!
As I noted above, I have always admired Muncy’s keen eye of the strike zone.
Muncy may want to consider going on a diet this winter.
Although this is not an opinion that I have seen expressed elsewhere, I think that we should really give Muncy a pass on defense. He is definitely not the best 3B, but he is not the worst. Ever since his Dodger career started, he has bounced around the diamond defensively. He started his Dodger career at 3B in 2018 as a replacement for an injured Justin Turner. Then, we found out that our 1B at the time (Bellinger) was indeed a capable CF and Muncy found his place at 1B. In 2021, he played 1B up through his horrific injury at the end of the regular season. Then in 2022, the Dodgers acquired Freeman, which required Muncy to play at 2B as his primary position. Then in 2023, Justin Turner left and the Dodgers needed a 3B, and Muncy had done a full circle returning to the position he playd briefly when he first joined the Dodgers. He had some difficult moments at 3B, but he also put a lot of work in – never complaining. One thing is sure: while he’ll never be a Gold Glove, if he has the opportunity to play the same position 2 years in a row, he will play it better. Give Max some slack!
I agree with you. Muncy is part of the solution not part of the problem.
I would prefer to see Muncy at 2b and lux at SS with Rojas backing up both. Maybe a Candelaria to play 3b.