Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy has missed nearly a month since suffering a strained oblique on May 15.
It has been a long process over the last four weeks for Muncy, who has already suffered one setback in his first attempt at taking batting practice. Oblique injuries are known for their tricky nature, and Muncy is facing that first-hand.
He recently began taking dry swings again and is hopeful to progress to batting practice for the second time in short order. But the Dodgers are looking to be cautious with Muncy, as they know the way this type of injury can linger.
The situation is undoubtedly frustrating for all parties, but especially Muncy.
The 33-year-old third baseman spoke about the frustration of an oblique injury and how the status of his current recovery is going, via Foul Territory with Alanna Rizzo, A.J. Pierzynski and Erik Kratz:
“We’re hanging in there. Being hurt is probably the worst thing ever. Not progressing as fast as I would like, but with an oblique you just have to give it time. There’s nothing you can really do. I think an oblique is possibly the worst position-player injury you can have, because there’s nothing you can do to strengthen it, or to help it get better or heal quicker. You really just have to sit there and wait. So it’s been pretty rough.”
Muncy, having already had to shut things down once due to a setback, is now realizing the idle nature of an oblique strain. And it’s certainly difficult to be patient when he’s already missed 23 games and has seen the Dodgers go 13-10 in that span, including a five-game losing streak.
Muncy’s injury brought about the realization that the Dodgers need to improve the depth at the bottom of their lineup as well. As with their seventh-year veteran out, they learned that they do not have trustworthy depth batting in the No. 6-9 spots in the lineup consistently.
Bobby Miller hopefully joining Dodgers
Another player who has missed significant time for the Dodgers is Bobby Miller, who has not pitched since April 10. But he is much closer to a return than Muncy, as L.A. is hopeful to get him back into the starting rotation after one more rehab start with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
During his three starts in the minors so far, Miller has a 5.40 ERA, 18 strikeouts, and six walks in 11.2 innings.
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