The Los Angeles Dodgers were cautiously optimistic after Max Muncy was hit by a pitch in his right wrist as a fluoroscopy at Pecto Park came back negative. Though, Muncy admitted to being in considerable pain and said an X-ray was to follow in Arizona.
Prior to that follow-up, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said he anticipated Muncy missing at least the entirety of their series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Muncy then had the X-ray, which also came back negative.
However with the 29-year-old suffering from persisting pain and limited range of motion, additional tests on his wrist came Friday. To little surprise, an MRI confirmed Muncy sustained a fracture when he was hit by the 94 mph fastball.
While that means Muncy is due to miss time in September, he generally views the prognosis in a positive light, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“There’s a small crack or fracture in there. But, I think the way we’ve been describing it is it’s average news right now. It wasn’t good news, it wasn’t bad news. Yes, there is something in there, but we’re not looking at a super long timetable; we’re hoping maybe just a week or two. At this point it’s kind of just how the wrist responds to some treatment. Once the inflammation and stuff gets out we can kind of go from there. There’s not a whole lot of waiting around for a bone to heal.”
With Muncy only expected to be sidelined for a brief stretch, he believes a return in time for Game 1 of National League Division Series on Oct. 3 is well within reason:
“I feel pretty confident about that. I can’t see the future but based on the timetable that we have, yeah, there should be no question about that. But things happen, things don’t happen. We’ll see.”
For the immediate future, inflammation and swelling must subside before Muncy can begin treatment on the wrist or any activity. He additionally is dealing with internal bruising, which could be a hinderance in the recovery process.
With Kristopher Negrón eligible to return, the Dodgers activated him and placed Muncy on the 10-day injured list. Muncy therefore is not eligible to be placed back on the active roster until Sept. 8, but it’s a moot point considering that is under the two-week expectation anyhow.
Meanwhile, Gavin Lux is joining the Dodgers and will make his MLB debut Monday against the Colorado Rockies.
