GLENDALE, Ariz. — The new two-year, $24 million contract Max Muncy signed with the Dodgers last fall was probably below market for a two-time All-Star who has hit at least 35 home runs in four of the past five seasons.
But Muncy doesn’t want to find a new home. That might have meant sacrificing a little salary – and it definitely meant having to go to work this winter.
“I’ve been very open about how I want to stay here for the rest of my career,” Muncy said Saturday. “And let’s be real – there’s not really a DH spot anymore (with Shohei Ohtani signed for 10 years). So if I want to play here, I need to make sure I’m in the field, and the best way to do that is just put myself in a good spot.”
Third base was not a very good spot for Muncy last year.
After moving between first, second and third base – and DH – for his first five seasons with the Dodgers, Muncy has played third base almost exclusively the past two seasons.
But last season, Muncy was one of the poorest defenders in the majors at the position. He ranked well below average in most defensive metrics. His 16 errors were second among all third basemen behind Boston’s Rafael Devers (19 in 27 more games) and his .944 fielding percentage was the lowest among players who played at least 45 games at third base last season.
“I just look at why (his defense rated so poorly),” Muncy said. “For me, there’s a lot of balls where I put myself in a bad position. … I know that’s not the defender that I am. It was just kind of a snowball effect from the beginning last year. (You) make a couple bad plays, and that kind of sticks with you and then it gets in your head that, when the ball gets hit, actually you’re expecting something bad to happen, when in reality I was the one creating the bad things that were going on.
“So you just try to clear that and you move on and you show up the next day ready to go. That’s what I’m doing right now.”
That started over the winter when Muncy said he focused his offseason work more on improving his flexibility and less on strength training. He dropped weight along the way – about 15 pounds so far, he said.
“I feel like I’m moving well,” he said. “My pre-pitch is going well. I’m able to stay down on balls hit to me. That was the biggest thing.”
Muncy said his knees bothered him at times last year, preventing him from getting low to the ground to make plays. He also got “too comfortable” at the position, in some ways.
“It was just making sure my feet move a little bit more, and getting the knees healthy,” he said. “Last year, I had a little trouble with just not staying down on the ball. I was coming up out of my fielding stance and everything. And when you’re doing that, it’s hard to read the hops and I kept putting myself in bad positions last year with bad hops.
“The old saying is, ‘There’s never a bad hop. You create a bad hop.’ That’s not necessarily always true. But I felt like that happened to me a lot last year, where I was just putting myself in a bad position. So the focus was just making sure that my feet stay moving. Just allowing myself to read the ball and make moves on it.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was honest in assessing Muncy’s challenge on defense.
“It had to be better. It needed to get better,” he said.
So far it is. Muncy, who returned to the lineup Saturday after missing a couple days to recover from taking a pitch to his left hand, looks to be moving well and with more confidence on defense, Roberts said.
“I think that last year, starting off slow, I think kind of messed with him a little bit and he became more tentative,” Roberts said. “Right now, physically he looks great and even mentally he’s just got a lot of confidence defensively. Defense is like hitting. You get in slumps as well defensively.
“I think the offseason, just sort of getting away from the hot box of performing … to kind of get a little reset and obviously he’s moving really well. I think that coming in with clarity was a big part of that, too.”
PROSPECT PROBLEMS
Already recovering from surgery on his pitching shoulder, top pitching prospect Nick Frasso also underwent surgery on the labrum in his right hip. The surgery was described as a “clean-up” procedure.
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Frasso, 25, was likely to miss the 2024 season following his shoulder surgery. GM Brandon Gomes said Frasso could see action during the Arizona Fall League now.
Meanwhile, catching prospect Diego Cartaya has been limited by a back problem this spring. Cartaya has had back issues before. Gomes said the “full expectation” is that Cartaya will be ready to start the minor-league season on time. He is expected to split time with another top catching prospect, Dalton Rushing, at Double-A Tulsa. Cartaya, 22, spent last season at Double-A and struggled offensively, batting .189 in 93 games.