LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers' lineup scuffled greatly when Max Muncy spent nearly five weeks on the injured list earlier this summer. Now, they'll have to weather another stretch without their third baseman.
Less than two weeks after returning, Muncy is headed back to the 10-day IL, this time with a Grade 1 oblique strain on his right side. The Dodgers expect him to return this season, but his absence will be longer than the minimum 10 days.
"You kind of take it week to week and see when he can start baseball activities again to get him back," manager Dave Roberts said before Friday night's opener against the Padres. "I don't think anyone expects it to be season-ending, but hopefully it's sooner than later."
The Dodgers claimed infielder Buddy Kennedy, who was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays three days prior, off waivers and added him to the active roster as the corresponding move. To clear a 40-man spot for Kennedy, right-hander Julian Fernández was DFA’d.
Muncy sustained the oblique injury while hitting in the cage on Wednesday. He had initially been in the lineup for that night's game, but he was scratched with right side soreness. That prompted him to undergo testing, including an MRI, which revealed the strain.
Last year, Muncy was sidelined for three months with a right oblique strain, but this one is not considered to be as serious.
In 89 games this season, Muncy was slashing .258/.389/.491 with 17 home runs and 64 RBIs. His 146 wRC+ ranked third among Dodgers players with at least 300 plate appearances, behind only Shohei Ohtani (174) and Will Smith (163).
"It's certainly a tough loss," Roberts said. "I think it's just, guys got to continue to perform to their abilities. It's hard to kind of backfill Max, what he brings as far as the plate discipline, the slug, the on-base, all that stuff. I feel good about our lineup, the guys that we have, and they've just got to go out there and take good at-bats. That's kind of all we can do right now."
When Muncy spent time on the IL with a bone bruise in his left knee following a scary collision at third base on July 2, it was a best-case scenario for both him and the team, who feared a potential season-ending injury. But while Muncy was out, the Dodgers' offense -- and the team as a whole -- struggled.
From July 3 to Aug. 3, the Dodgers ranked 30th in the Majors in runs (88), 29th in average (.225) and 28th in OPS (.665). They went 10-15 in that span.
The offense began to perform a little better once Muncy was activated from the IL, but the Dodgers' slide continued. They entered Friday one game behind the Padres in the NL West despite once leading by nine games on July 3.
With six games against their top competition in the division in a 10-day stretch, the Dodgers can ill afford another extended team slump.