Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
The Los Angeles Dodgers have seen much of their core from the mid- to late 2010s slowly dissipate over the years. The latest and most significant domino to fall was Clayton Kershaw’s retirement at the end of last season, leaving Max Muncy as the longest tenured player in the organization.
Muncy earned his eighth year of MLB service time with the Dodgers at the end of last season, narrowly beating out Kiké Hernández.
Hernández joined the Dodgers in 2015, three seasons before Muncy, but has around seven years of service time with the club because of his tenure with the Boston Red Sox from 2021 to 2022 and parts of 2023.
Muncy signed a Minor League contract with the Dodgers in 2017 after the Oakland Athletics released him. He made his Dodgers debut in 2018 and has been with the team ever since.
The 35-year-old never thought he’d be in this position, but he’s incredibly thankful for his Dodgers journey, according to Sonja Chen of MLB.com:
“Never in a million years,” Muncy said earlier in Spring Training. “That was part of the issue with who I was in Oakland, I didn’t fully believe in myself. There’s no way I would have ever imagined I could have gotten to this point. It’s been a special journey for me, and it’s one that I’m extremely grateful for.”
Because of his unique journey to the Majors and the fact that the Dodgers helped revive his career, he’s never had a strong desire to test the open market.
Manager Dave Roberts said Muncy’s eagerness to play for the Dodgers is one of his favorite qualities about him:
“He has, certainly, a different path of getting here,” manager Dave Roberts said. “What captures Max is he loves being a Dodger. He’s taken less money, did not challenge the free-agent market, because he wanted to be here. And so that’s something, for me, you want as many players to be a part of this organization that just want to be here.”
Muncy is entering his ninth season with the Dodgers and was set to become a free agent at the end of the season, but he will be sticking around for at least one more season after signing a one-year contract extension worth $7 million.
Max Muncy’s swing feels good after mechanical changes
Muncy took time to refine his swing in the offseason and said he feels very comfortable at the plate. His confidence has been evident on the field, as the left-hander has hit .313/.371/.594 with three home runs in 32 at-bats.
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