The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best record in baseball, but just lost a key player in Max Muncy. Muncy was helped off the field on Wednesday night, and it is unclear when he will return.
Muncy hurt his knee after a collision with Michael A. Taylor in the sixth inning of Wednesday night's contest. He will undergo further testing, and the Dodgers have not announced what his timeline is. Muncy was playing great recently, but now the Dodgers may have to find a way to replace him.
The Dodgers have internal options. Tommy Edman's versatility and Hyeseong Kim on the bench give the Dodgers an opportunity to get creative at third base. However, FanSided's Mark Powell suggested the Dodgers trade for Eugenio Suárez of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Suárez will be a free agent after the season. He is playing on a club option after signing a seven-year, $66 million deal in 2018.
"If the Arizona Diamondbacks are open to trading with their division rivals, Eugenio Suarez has been mentioned in trade circles by various insiders," wrote Powell. "Suarez is one of the better power hitters in the National League, having already hit 26 home runs as of this writing. He has a .874 OPS and 138 OPS+ along with 2.5 bWAR. The Dodgers would be lucky to have him, as you could argue he is essentially a pound-for-pound replacement for Muncy, if necessary. Heck, when Muncy is able to return from injury, the Dodgers would have further flexibility to place either play at the opposite corner on certain nights when Freddie Freeman needs rest, or even have Suarez DH."
Muncy was slashing .287/.414/.575 since April 30. Losing him is a big blow. The Dodgers will hope his injury is just a sprain and will knock him out for a significant amount of time.
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If Muncy is absent for a long period, the Dodgers may get aggressive at the trade deadline. They have a roster built to win another World Series, and they will not let a hole at third base prevent them from winning back-to-back championships.
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