Max Muncy Raises Concern as Dodgers Look to Three-Peat

Nov 1, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) celebrates with teammates in the dugout after hitting a home run against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning during game seven of the 2025 MLB World Series at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

The 2025 season will be remembered for the Los Angeles Dodgers by winning a second consecutive World Series, but their path to do so was anything but smooth.

There were injuries and underperformances throughout the year, which included Max Muncy twice going on the injured list. Muncy avoided catastrophe in each instance, as a slide into his left leg resulted in only a bone bruise, and an oblique strain in August didn't end Muncy's season.

The injuries were another reminder of the various pitfalls that can surface any given year, especially with a veteran player like Muncy and for a Dodgers team that was in the midst of back-to-back long seasons that started overseas.

With the Dodgers now looking to three-peat, Muncy reflected on the challenges of regularly playing deep into October during his appearance on SportsNet LA.

"As I've mentioned, the offseasons get short and that's what you want. But when your offseason is so short, you don't have the full time to recover. Most guys, when the offseason comes, they'll take anywhere from, like, two weeks to a full month off, before they get back into training. For us, we don't have that time.

"You have to get right back into training, so your body is not getting the full time to recover. That's where with a long season, you start seeing some guys break down a little bit. There's just not enough time to recover. There's not really anything you can do about that. We're trying to be smarter about how we're managing guys, workloads and that kind of stuff. But at the end of the day, you have to get your recovery."

One welcomed change for the Dodgers this year is they will get to enjoy a more normal Spring Training schedule. Though, it still will be slightly disjointed due to the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

The impact should still be relatively minimal as only Will Smith (Team USA), Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Team Japan) are due to participate in the tournament. At the very least, the Dodgers' 2026 Spring Training schedule is not condensed like it was in each of the past two years in order to account for travel and exhibition games before the respective Seoul Series and Tokyo Series.

But as Muncy noted, the cumulative wear and tear can ultimately come with a cost. That will be of particular note for the Dodgers to monitor given the average age on their roster.

The Dodgers had the oldest MLB roster in 2025 with an average age of 31.48. Much of the core remains in place, but adding 29-year-old Kyle Tucker should help. Andy Pages, who turned 25 years old in December, was the only Dodgers player who started more than 45 games last season and is younger than 30.

Max Muncy's future with Dodgers

Muncy, 35, is entering his potential final season with the Dodgers. The team exercised a $10 million option on their starting third baseman this offseason but there have not been any indications of extension talks.

Muncy expressed an interest in extending his contract beyond the 2026 season. The Dodgers and Muncy previously agreed on a three-year, $26 million contract extension in February 2020, and a one-year, $13.5 million deal in August 2022.