Max Muncy agrees to two-year contract extension with Dodgers
The Dodgers and third baseman Max Muncy agreed to a two-year, $24-million contract extension that will keep the veteran slugger with the club through 2025, the team announced Thursday.
The deal also includes a $10-million club option for 2026, as well as performance bonuses in 2025 and 2026, according to a person with knowledge of the situation unauthorized to speak publicly.
The move effectively replaces the $14-million club option for next season that was in Muncy’s previous contract. With the new deal, the 33-year-old will make $12 million in each of the next two seasons, shaving a little money off the Dodgers’ annual payroll while giving Muncy the security of a multi-year deal.
The Dodgers have a long list of things they want to accomplish this offseason, the biggest being their pursuit of a certain free agent last seen in Anaheim.
Originally signed by the Dodgers to a minor-league deal in 2017 following an underwhelming start to his MLB career with the Oakland Athletics, Muncy has been one of the Dodgers’ biggest power threats the last six years.
He has produced four seasons of 35 or more home runs, including 36 this past season that matched a career-high.
He has 472 RBIs and 466 walks in 751 regular-season games with the Dodgers — all of which are most on the team since 2018. He also has been named to two All-Star teams and received MVP votes three times.
Several holes in Muncy’s game, however, have emerged in recent seasons.
He has batted just .216 since 2020, including a .212 mark this past season that ranked fourth-worst in the majors among qualified hitters.
For all the walks he draws, he also strikes out at a well-above-league-average clip, averaging 163 per full-season in his time with the Dodgers.
And since moving to third base full-time two years ago, his defense has become a question mark. This past season, his 16 errors at the position were the most in the National League.
Nonetheless, the Dodgers always seemed likely to bring Muncy back.
They don’t have an obvious in-house upgrade to replace him at third base. Depending on other moves they make this winter, he could always slot in at second base or designated hitter if it would better suit the roster. And he still provides a left-handed power threat at a relatively team-friendly price.
Add it all up, and it was enough for the Dodgers — who already struck two contract extensions with him in the past — to lock him down longer-term again in the first notable move of their offseason.
