CINCINNATI -- A little less than four weeks after Max Muncy sustained a left knee bone bruise following a scary on-field collision, the Dodgers' third baseman will join Triple-A Oklahoma City to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday.
Manager Dave Roberts said the plan is for Muncy to get three at-bats and play third base for the Comets on Tuesday. It's yet to be determined how many games Muncy will need before he's an option to return to Los Angeles.
While there's an off chance that Muncy could return to the team this weekend in Tampa -- for the final leg of the ongoing three-city road trip -- it appears more likely that he will be activated when the Dodgers return to Los Angeles next week.
"I would say it's a slim chance [he returns in Tampa]," Roberts said, "because the main thing for us, even where we're at as an offensive unit, [is] to make sure he gets back and does the whole process of the rehab. And not try to cut that short because of where we're at."
From his diagnosis to his timeline, Muncy's rehab has played out in a best-case scenario. He initially expected to be out for about six weeks when he was placed on the 10-day injured list on July 3, so if he's activated for the Dodgers' next homestand, he'll be about a week ahead of schedule.
That's good news for a Dodgers lineup that has sorely missed Muncy's presence in the heart of the order, even though the team's offense has shown some signs of life recently. Entering Monday, the Dodgers combined to post a .688 OPS since Muncy went on the IL, which ranked 27th among Major League teams in that span.
Following a slow start to the season, Muncy emerged as one of L.A.'s steadiest hitters in the couple of months before his injury. From April 30 on, he hit .287 with a .989 OPS, 13 homers and 51 RBIs.
When Muncy returns, he'll likely have to manage some lingering effects of the bone bruise. It will be a matter of pain tolerance, as well as building up to ensure he's ready to get back to playing every day.
"Like a lot of injuries where you get banged up, you're not playing -- to then do the up-downs of the innings, and kind of go through that while you're getting your legs back," Roberts said. "I think he's healthy, I think he's strong, but just kind of being a baseball player again, I think that's something we want to make sure that it doesn't affect any other part of his game."