Sometimes, good things do come to those who wait.
On Thursday morning, the Dodgers signed infielder Max Muncy to a 3 year, $26 million extension. The deal also includes an option for a fourth year at $13 million or a $1.5 million buyout.
This was the first season that the versatile infielder was eligible for arbitration. He requested $4.675 million per year, and the Dodgers countered at $4 million. This new deal now pays Muncy an aggregate of $9 million per season, avoiding future arbitration and giving him some career stability.
Details of the contract include a $4.5 million signing bonus and a $1 million salary for the 2020 season. 2021 will see Muncy being paid $7.5 million, and 2022 his salary will be $11.5 million. It is a team option for 2024 for $13 million with a buyout of $1.5 million should they choose not to exercise that option.
Three years ago, Muncy was released by the Oakland Athletics, where he had logged minimal big league playing time. He considered his options to be Japan, Korea, independent league ball, or retirement. But, he instead signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers, who, while they didn’t have room for him on the major league roster at the time, told him to stick around. He spent the whole year in Triple-A Oklahoma City before being called up in the spring of 2018.
He never went back down.
Over the course of the last two seasons with the Dodgers, Muncy has done nothing but delivered and has given fans such memorable moments such as the Dodgers only 18th inning World Series walk-off home run, and hitting a home run off of perpetual angry pitcher Madison Bumgarner, telling him if he didn’t like it, he should “go get it out of the ocean.”
In his two seasons with the Dodgers, he has amassed 70 home runs and 177 RBI alongside a .927 OPS. He is one of the six players in the majors over that time frame to have produced such a stat line. He’s also one of five Dodgers players to ever have back-to-back 35 home runs seasons.
I for one am glad to see the Wolf back with his pack for three more years. On a team of superstars, Muncy has been a steady force, and one who’s bat doesn’t disappear in the offseason, unfortunately rare for this team lately.
Chris Taylor and Pedro Baez are awaiting the verdict of their respective arbitration hearings.
Think Blue Planning Committee 
Well done Max. You deserve every penny! Dodgers are fortunate that Boras isn’t his agent!
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A great deal for Max and the Dodgers.
On the topic of our two trades, it makes me wonder if they have been trying to deal Maeda even before signing Wood and Nelson. It will be an outstanding deal IMO, especially if we can sign Mookie long term. If not, we will be hunting for OF help for 2021 and beyond. That brings me to the trade with the Angels. So far, I don’t think infield depth is a need and expect at least one of the prospects to be named will be a high rated OF prospect (not named Adell, obviously). I am a bit concerned giving up both Pederson and Verdugo. We are apparently counting on Pollock to play everyday and stay healthy. So far, I don’t like this deal. Ross Stripling, IMO is better than either Wood or Nelson and not a health risk. The return from the Angels better include a couple of legit prospects, as we so far are getting redundant infield depth In Rengifo and they get a starting pitcher for their rotation and a 30+ HR RF.
If the bench were named today, I would it expect to include Barnes, Taylor, Hernandez, Beaty and Rios.
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I do not think Rios will make the cut. Good for Muncy. He will be 32 when the deal is over and won’t get a contract like this one I would think.
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Looking at a 5 player bench, my thinking is they would keep a second LH hitter. Beaty is a definite. I suppose the switch hitting Rengifo is a candidate as well as McKinstry. Who do you think the final guy is? Mr. 26.
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Outfielders. Betts, Belli, Pollock, Beaty, Kike, Inf Muncy, Turner, Seager, Lux, Taylor, C Barnes and Smith. 5th spot on the bench will be who ever has the best spring and has some options left. White is out of options I think. Rios has some pop, but is not really a great defender anywhere on the field. He does play OF, 3B and 1B. I think Rengifo is at AAA as insurance. Of course there could be some dark horse guy out there. AAA roster is not even filled out yet. The non roster invitees list is not filled with many candidates.
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While Beaty saw some action in the OF last year, he is primarily a corner IF. If Pollock is healthy (big if), I don’t see Beaty playing much OF in 2020. Kike and Taylor are much better defensively and IMO Beaty will be the primary LH pinch hitter as well as an occasional start at 3B and 1B when Turner and Muncy need a day off.
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Beaty played more games in LF than any other position. He has the versatility to play there. If they platoon, like we know they will sometimes, Beaty will get some time out there. I think Pollock is going to be fine.
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Beaty got that many opportunities in 2019 due to injuries. There will be Very Little platooning in 2020. He may get an occasional start or a few innings in a double switch, but he will be used primarily as the lefty off the bench. We will see at the end of the season which of us is right.
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I think he will play a lot more than you think he will. And there will be plenty of platooning. The only players who won’t get platooned, Belli and Betts, Turner and Seager. Other than that they will all move around the field. Especially the guys like Taylor, Beaty, Kike, Muncy won’t play every game at 1st. He will get a lot of playing time, but he will also get moved now and then. And if the kid, Lux, does not live up to the hype, you can bet Max will see some time at second base.
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Obviously, Smith won’t catch every day, but expect him to start 120-130 games. They are not paying Pollock $15M this year to start only against LHs. Now he and also Turner will get days off due to their injury history to keep them fresh, but that’s not platooning. Muncy will be a nearly everyday player and primarily at 1B. He may play some 3B when Turner sits, but then who plays 1B? I expect a Lux to play everyday and compete for ROY. Kike or CT will play 2B when Lux is out. I don’t see White making the team as backup at first, but possible. I see Rios ahead of him based on last year and Whites health issues. Anyway, my definition of platooning is when two players share a position, almost always due to lefty, righty matchups and with Joc going to LAA, that just doesn’t exist. There will be some double switching and subbing during Dodger blowouts, but again, not much “classic platooning” as in the past.
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This is highway robbery by the Dodgers essentially. I mean that in the best of ways. We just got a 30+ HR 1B/2B for what amounts to a 4 year $39 million deal that will cover his prime playing years.
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You need deals like this to offset the aging $30 million contracts. Muncy puts up 5+ WAR for $5.5 million while Kershaw puts up 3+ WAR for $31 million. Develop and keep them during their arb years.
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It’s very similar to the Kemp/Grandal trade way back when. Padres whined about Kemp’s knees, even asked for more IIRC.
Dodgers should hope this trade ends as lopsided for them as that one did….
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I do not think the Kemp trade was lopsided at all. SD got 46 homers and 169 ribbies over 254 games and a .264 average from Kemp, over the same 2 years the Dodgers got 43 homers and 119 ribbies over 241 games and some awful defense. Grandal was a double play machine. He couldn’t block a pitch if his life was in danger. It worked out ok for both teams, but it was far from lopsided. Grandal has never driven in 100 runs in his career, Kemp did it 2 years in a row after leaving the Dodgers.
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I think Jesus is measuring the trade by the accumulated WAR of both players. I was never that crazy about Grandal, but I know others were. He seemed drugged to me. Passed balls, missed throws at the plate, his throws all over the diamond. Grand-adderall. But he could hit. I don’t miss him. I don’t miss either of them to be honest. Kemp should have been an .900 OPS player every year but he couldn’t lay off pitches out of the strike zone. Maddening.
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I as you know totally disliked Grandal. I think he was lazy behind the plate and did not work at his craft. Most liked him because he was this great pitch framer. But he could not block balls in the dirt and it cost them on more than one occasion. He could hit homers and his OBP was usually pretty good, but he was a .240 hitter at best. Had Kemp never hit that wall at Coors when he was having another MVP start to the season, he would have been a different player.
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Joc lost his arbitration case and will get 7.5 million. Trade with the Angels should be finalized sometime today. Kevin Kennedy has urged fans to not panic about the Betts trade. Those kinds of things happen all the time.
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Dodgers sign Taylor to a 2 year extension.
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