Along with selecting the contract of Emmet Sheehan and optioning Michael Grove to Triple-A Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Dodgers also recalled Michael Busch and placed Max Muncy on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain.
Muncy’s IL stint was backdated to June 13, which makes Friday, June 23, the earliest he can be activated. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts originally relayed that Muncy had sustained a Grade 2 hamstring strain, but that was later corrected to only be a minor pull.
The Dodgers remained hopeful Muncy would return to the lineup for the middle game of the series against the San Francisco Giants. Though, Friday was also considered a tipping point if Muncy did not make enough improvement.
Muncy completed agility drills and fielded ground balls on Wednesday and Thursday, and expanded to further testing his hamstring by running bases prior to the series opener against the Giants.
Roberts said Muncy still was not 100%, which prompted the decision to place him on the IL.
“In my mind I would say defense is probably going to be the biggest thing, because at third base it’s just reaction,” Muncy said of needing to be able to run without issue.
“So if a ground ball is hit to your left or right, you don’t necessarily have time to think about, ‘I’ve got to put the governor on.’ You’ve got to go for it. So for me, I would say that’s probably the biggest issue.
“Coming out of the batter’s box, you can always control your effort and how hard you’re running. If I was at second or in the outfield, you could see the ball and have time to react. You can’t do that at third.”
As for Busch, he is up with the Dodgers for a second time this season. He went 4-for-19 with two RBI in seven games during his two weeks with the team.
Busch was just named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week and has been a prolonged tear for Oklahoma City. In 45 games, he’s batting .313/.428/.540 with 15 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 38 RBI.
Max Muncy: hamstring injuries ‘unrelated’
This is now a second time in nearly two weeks Muncy has dealt with left hamstring trouble, but the first instance was merely a cramp that didn’t require an MRI and kept him out of the lineup for just one game.
“I would say it’s completely unrelated,” Muncy said of his hamstring strain. “It’s two completely different spots. In Tampa, it was literally just a cramp. That’s all it was. That’s why we canceled the MRI.
“This is something more, and that’s why we got the imaging done. Thankfully, it’s something mild. Hopefully I can get over it before not too long.”
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