Roughly one month before the Los Angeles Dodgers dominated the offseason by signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and trading for Tyler Glasnow, they agreed to terms with Max Muncy on a contract extension that extends through at least the 2025 season.
The Dodgers held a team option on Muncy for 2024, but replaced it with a two-year, $24 million extension. The deal includes a $10 million club option for the 2026 season and bonuses for plate appearances.
While Muncy and the Dodgers face heightened World Series expectations, he’s well aware being considered a favorite in October doesn’t come with any guarantees.
Muncy has been with the team as they flamed out in the National League Division Series each of the last two years. They’re coming off a particularly rough showing against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who swept the Dodgers in the NLDS.
“I mean, it’s still there,” Muncy said of the lingering memory and disappointment. “There’s no way around it. We sucked. We obviously really kind of blew it. I’m not trying to take anything away from the Diamondbacks — they obviously played very well, and hats off to them — but we blew it.
“When something like that happens, it sticks with you for a while. We’re obviously extremely excited, but it’s still there a little bit.”
In the immediate aftermath of the shocking sweep, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed his belief the lineup struggling was more problematic than the team’s pitching woes. Some believe the reverse was more to blame for the Dodgers being swept, but Muncy saw one collective culprit.
“I feel like you can have a dartboard and throw a dart, and it will land on something that went wrong. Everything kind of went wrong for us,” he said.
“That’s all there really is to it. We didn’t do a whole lot right. We didn’t hit. We didn’t score. We didn’t pitch. There really wasn’t a whole lot that we did well. Everything went wrong.”
Max Muncy reacts to Dodgers payroll
A popular theme at DodgerFest was the Dodgers widely being perceived as MLB’s biggest villain because of the large financial commitments to Ohtani, Yamamoto and Glasnow.
However, Muncy was quick to note the Dodgers still do not have the biggest payroll in baseball. He also echoed a sentiment shared by Mookie Betts, who responded to criticism in an incredulous manner, confused by those who believe the Dodgers should not pursue top players in the interest of winning.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
