“Nowhere else I’d rather be”- Max Muncy extends contract with Los Angeles Dodgers
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Max Muncy
A contract agreement between the Los Angeles Dodgers and infielder Max Muncy has been reached, the team said. He had a $13MM club option for his services with the Dodgers under the prior agreement he had agreed to. With the Dodgers now holding a $10MM club option for 2024 along with incentives, it will now become guaranteed at $13.5MM. According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times, the 2024 option has no buyout clause.
The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya breaks down the escalators on Max Muncy’s option, which is determined by the number of plate appearances he makes in 2023. The option price would rise by $250K for each of the following next season milestones: 50, 250, 300, and 350 plate appearances; $500K at 400 and 450 PA; and $1MM at 500 and 550 PA.
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Happy 32nd birthday in advance Max Muncy
Given that Max Muncy turns 32 years old on Thursday, this extension serves as a kind of early birthday gift for him. By the norms of major league baseball, the left-handed slugger only broke out in 2018 when he was 27 years old. He had 35 home runs that season and a batting line of.263/.391/.582, giving him a wRC+ of 162, which meant his offense was 62% greater than the league average.
He hit 35 home runs once more in 2019 while also slashing .251/.374/.515 for a wRC+ of 133, demonstrating that it wasn’t an exception. By switching between first, second, and third base during that period, he additionally offered defensive versatility. At the age of 29, Max Muncy finally made it to arbitration for the first time in his career following those two successful seasons. He and the club were unable to reach an agreement; the club filed for $4MM while Max Muncy’s team provided a number of $4.675MM.
Prior to the hearing, the parties reached a longer-term agreement that would last through 2022 with an option for 2023. Max Muncy was on track to become a free agent after 2022, thus that contract effectively cost him one year of free agency while giving him the opportunity to secure at least $26MM in possible future earnings.
While the 2020 season was cut short, Max Muncy struggled a little. However, he excelled in the postseason, helping the Dodgers win their first World Series since 1988. He resumed his previous pace in 2018, hitting 36 home runs while posting a batting line of.249/.368/.527 and a wRC+ of 140. Unfortunately, he suffered an arm injury in a collision at the end of the season that prevented him from playing in the postseason the previous year.
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Leslie Savio Baptist
(151 Articles Published)