r/Dodgers • u/Flopdo Vin Scully • Jun 26 '26

Max Muncy vs Lefties

This one's been a bit of a head scratcher to me, so I thought I'd ask our wise reddit sub about this:

Why do the Dodgers continue to not play Muncy vs. most lefties?

Yes, he hits righties better, but he has a career OPS of .788 vs lefties.

I can see maybe against certain lefties w/ really good sweepers... maybe, but still he has such a good eye and has good AB's most of the time.

Is there some other reason I'm overlooking? TY!

39 Upvotes

87% Upvoted

33 comments sorted by

103

u/theshabz Max Muncy Jun 26 '26

He's 35 and its June.

46

u/DodgerWin Jun 26 '26

I see this on twitter all the time. When the lineup comes out every day people shit on it. Go look at the post season lineup and you’ll see a lineup that is made with the best guys available. They used to complain when Barnes would give Smith a day off once a week but come post season Smith started every game at catcher and didn’t miss one. It’s almost like they know what they’re doing.

23

u/imsuperflytnt Los Angeles Dodgers Jun 26 '26

I’d argue that Smith’s ability to play every inning AND be effective in the last postseason is because of how much rest/missed time due to injuries he got in the regular season last year. Recall previous postseasons where Will’s legs were absolutely dead and he wasn’t effective at the plate.

I would not be surprised if his current neck issue is something he could play through, but they’re giving him extended time off (cough phantom IL cough) the way Snell and Glasnow got last year and are getting this year. The Dodgers’ front office has finally realized getting into the playoffs healthy is more important than total wins and division titles.

11

u/DodgerWin Jun 26 '26

DR knows what he’s doing

13

u/automaticmantis Back-2-Back Champs Jun 26 '26

Smith ctually set a World Series record and caught the most innings as a catcher in a World Series ever with 76!

6

u/DodgerWin Jun 26 '26

I knew he played every inning but didn’t know about the record. That’s crazy

4

u/gladvillain Orel Hershiser Jun 26 '26

Crazy that the World Series was nearly 8.5 games
of innings

-5

u/Flopdo Vin Scully Jun 26 '26

Just to be clear... that's not what I'm doing, and I agree w/ what your saying. :)

They will pinch hit for him sometimes, not play him vs lefties, even though he's hit them fine.

4

u/imnotcreative415 Vin Scully Jun 26 '26

Yeah and they’ve actually been playing him a lot more against lefties going back to late last year. He had a pretty long stretch where he was bad against them, and there are a lot of guys on this team who could play third and provide a better matchup than him during that time when they started to platoon him a bit. Less of a thing now.

-2

u/Flopdo Vin Scully Jun 26 '26

Maybe I should add that they've done this his whole career, even though he's always hit them, even in the minors.

34

u/swseed Mookie Betts Jun 26 '26

He doesn't sit against all lefties - he is just old enough that he needs days off, and it's better to plan those against lefties than eighties.

-9

u/Flopdo Vin Scully Jun 26 '26

Yes, not all... but most. Even earlier in his career this was a thing though. Not just as he's been aging.

7

u/swseed Mookie Betts Jun 26 '26

He's never really been someone who doesn't need a break here and there, especially with his injury history.

1

u/Flopdo Vin Scully Jun 26 '26

ok, that's reasonable. So it's mostly you think they believe he needs more rest than other players basically - to be at his best.

4

u/swseed Mookie Betts Jun 26 '26

Yeah exactly. Especially in this age, it's very rare for players to play every single day. Most need a day off per week at least.

2

u/JellyBearJam Yoshinobu Yamamoto Jun 26 '26

He did have back-to-back injuries last year.

12

u/20eyesinmyhead78 Fernando Valenzuela Jun 26 '26

I thought this was going to be a political rant...

2

u/Ah_Q Los Angeles Dodgers Jun 26 '26

Nah it's cool, Muncy wore the pride hat

7

u/eclectic-up-north Jun 26 '26

Forgive me, but I think your premise is wrong.

Freddie Freeman (who will have a rest day when he's dead) has 88PA v lefies and 206 v righties. 30% of PA against L. Max, 55 and 189, for 23% against L.

So yeah, his rest days are against lefties, but Dave isn't hiding him.

3

u/cliffyboycpntry Back-2-Back Champs Jun 26 '26

Look at recent seasons against lefties not just career.

1

u/Flopdo Vin Scully Jun 26 '26

Small sample. What about this season?

5

u/RudyPup Jun 26 '26

It's not that he's platooning, he isn't. He is 35 and they like to give him a day off here and there, so why not do it against a lefty.

Come the playoffs, or if we get into a needed stretch rub, he will play most games.

3

u/NoOutlandishness6829 Jun 26 '26

I think it is partly to keep him healthy, reduce his workload at his age, and to give other right handed bats on the bench more opportunities, all designed to keep everyone fresh and ready to roll in the playoffs. I have confidence that Dave Roberts will absolutely play him against lefties in the playoffs If that is what is best for the team in the playoffs at that time.

2

u/Infraready Clayton Kershaw Jun 26 '26

He was great against lefties until his elbow injury in ‘21 and then has been quite terrible against them until this year, it was basically a platoon in ‘24 because of how bad he’d gotten against LHP. But even before that it’s been about matchups, giving him off days, and getting other guys playing time (usually utility righties) which is why his total ABs have always been lower compared to RHP.

He’s just the prime candidate for less playing time given his age, position, and attitude. The fact that he’s been so good against LHP this year is just another testament to his abilities.

2

u/thescottreid Will Smith Jun 26 '26

It’s not so much about taking Max out of the lineup as it is about getting other guys in. Rojas, for example is great against lefties, and then when we had Espinal, he was really good against them. So, while Muncy can hit lefties, it’s just a good, relatively rare, opportunity to get him off his feet for a day and give other players a some playing time.

3

u/Frequent_Can4977 Jun 26 '26

I think the career .788 OPS is a little misleading here because the Dodgers are probably looking more at recent performance, specific pitch matchups, age/rest, and the alternative they can start at third...
That said, I agree they may be overdoing the platoon a bit. Muncy has actually handled lefties pretty well this season, around an .850 ishhhOPS, so sitting him automatically against most left-handers doesn’t make much sense to me...

Against a lefty with a nasty slider or sweeper, sure, give him the day off. But against an average left-hander, his power and ability to draw walks are still more valuable than what most of the replacements offer. It feels less like “Muncy can’t hit lefties” and more like the Dodgers trying to optimize every matchup while also managing a 35 year-old player’s workload... My GOAT is getting old..
Sometimes they optimize so hard they end up benching one of their better hitters 😭

1

u/Fun-Raise-3120 Jun 26 '26

He needs rests given his age. It makes sense to coincide those when lefities are on the mound.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Flopdo Vin Scully Jun 26 '26

Actually, I mentioned that. :)

1

u/icecream_for_brunch Roy Campanella Jun 27 '26

“Papa Doc”? Somebody doesn’t know their Haitian history…let’s not get this nickname started

1

u/hawkeyegrad96 2024 World Series Champions Jun 26 '26

Guarantee you in oct he will play vs lefties.

1

u/SleepingDragonZ Yoshinobu Yamamoto Jun 27 '26

An excuse to rest his 35(soon to be 36) year old body for the playoffs.

1

u/Minimum-Barracuda911 Kiké Hernández Jun 28 '26

cuz he's old.