Whereas successful three World Sequence with the Dodgers, Max Muncy and Enrique Hernández have each made their marks in October, with the previous setting the franchise document for postseason house runs (16) and the latter doing so for video games performed (92). Each will stay in Dodger Blue for awhile longer, with an opportunity to extend these totals — and chase a 3rd consecutive championship. On Thursday, a day forward of their pitchers and catchers reporting to Camelback Ranch, the Dodgers introduced that Muncy has agreed to an extension for 2027, and that Hernández, a free agent, will once more return to the fold. A day earlier, Los Angeles introduced that it had re-signed righty Evan Phillips, who missed final 12 months’s postseason run attributable to Tommy John surgical procedure and was non-tendered in November. Amid the following roster crunch, the Dodgers designated catcher Ben Rortvedt for task for the second time this winter, and traded beforehand DFA’d lefty Anthony Banda to the Twins for worldwide bonus cash.
That’s rather a lot to select by, creating ripples up and down the roster. We’ll begin with Muncy, who with the retirement of Clayton Kershaw is now the longest-tenured Dodger, having joined the crew in 2018. The 35-year-old slugger was already signed for 2026, as a result of in November the Dodgers picked up the $10 million possibility on his earlier two-year, $24 million extension. His new contract — his fourth extension prior to now six years, all of them so team-friendly that he’s by no means had a base wage above $13.5 million — ensures him one other $10 million, with $7 million for his 2027 wage and one other $3 million as a buyout for a $10 million membership possibility for ’28.
These are cut price costs given the manufacturing and monitor document of Muncy, who has developed from a cast-off by the A’s right into a two-time All-Star and a pillar of the Dodgers lineup. Whereas he was restricted to 100 video games in 2025 attributable to a bone bruise in his left knee — suffered on July 2, moments earlier than Kershaw notched his 3,000th profession strikeout — after which an indirect pressure in mid-August, he hit .243/.376/.470 with 19 house runs in 388 plate appearances. Each his 137 wRC+ and a pair of.9 WAR have been his highest since his All-Star 2021 marketing campaign, however hardly out of character. Restricted to 73 video games in 2024 attributable to an indirect pressure and a displaced rib, he hit .232/.358/.494 (133 wRC+) with 15 homers and a pair of.3 WAR in simply 293 plate appearances.
Muncy ran cold and hot in the course of the 2025 postseason, hitting .214/.353/.411 total with some huge house runs. His solo photographs off the Brewers’ Freddy Peralta within the sixth inning of NLCS Recreation 2 and the Blue Jays’ Kevin Gausman within the seventh inning of World Sequence Recreation 2 chased these starters and prolonged 2-1 leads, whereas his eighth-inning solo blast off Trey Yesavage in Recreation 7 of the World Sequence pulled the Dodgers again to inside one run. Dwelling runs by Miguel Rojas within the ninth inning and Will Smith within the eleventh carried the Dodgers to their second straight championship and third underneath supervisor Dave Roberts.
A couple of issues stand out when poring over Muncy’s 2025 numbers. For one, his 16.5% stroll charge was the very best of his profession, whereas his 21.4% strikeout charge was his lowest since 2021 — and he did it whereas swinging extra often than ever, each total (42.4%, in comparison with a 38.9% profession charge) and at pitches within the zone (64.3%, in comparison with a 59.3% profession charge). Not solely did he swing and miss much less typically (9.4%) than in any season since 2021, he set profession highs in each common exit velocity (91.2 mph) and hard-hit charge (51.5%), the previous by an eyelash, the latter by practically 5 full proportion factors. When he made contact, he pulled the ball within the air extra typically than ever earlier than (31.5%, the majors’ fourth-highest charge). Lengthy story brief, he stays a professional thumper.
You Aren’t a FanGraphs Member
It seems to be such as you aren’t but a FanGraphs Member (or aren’t logged in). We aren’t mad, simply dissatisfied.
We get it. You need to learn this text. However earlier than we allow you to get again to it, we might wish to level out a couple of of the nice explanation why it’s best to develop into a Member.
1. Advert Free viewing! We cannot bug you with this advert, or every other.
2. Limitless articles! Non-Members solely get to learn 10 free articles a month. Members by no means get reduce off.
3. Darkish mode and Basic mode!
4. Customized participant web page dashboards! Select the participant playing cards you need, within the order you need them.
5. One-click knowledge exports! Export our projections and leaderboards in your private initiatives.
6. Take away the photographs on the house web page! (Truthfully, this does not sound so nice to us, however some individuals wished it, and we like to offer our Members what they need.)
7. Much more Steamer projections! Now we have handedness, percentile, and context impartial projections obtainable for Members solely.
8. Get FanGraphs Stroll-Off, a personalized 12 months finish assessment! Discover out precisely the way you used FanGraphs this 12 months, and the way that compares to different Members. Do not be a sufferer of FOMO.
9. A weekly mailbag column, completely for Members.
10. Assist help FanGraphs and our total employees! Our Members present us with crucial sources to enhance the positioning and ship new options!
We hope you will contemplate a Membership at present, for your self or as a present! And we understand this has been an awfully lengthy gross sales pitch, so we have additionally eliminated all the opposite advertisements on this article. We did not need to overdo it.
Muncy’s protection was a little bit of a blended bag in keeping with the metrics; his -4 FRV at third base matched a profession low, set in 251 extra innings in 2023, although his 3 DRS was his third 12 months out of 4 within the black. As we noticed time after time in the course of the postseason, he’s in a position to make the large performs when wanted.
Talking of constructing huge performs, they don’t come a lot greater than the double play that Hernández pulled off to seal the Dodgers’ 3-1 win in Recreation 6 of the World Sequence. With runners on second and third after Addison Barger’s ground-rule double on a ball that bought caught within the backside of the outfield fence, Hernández — taking part in a shallower left subject than Dodgers coaches wished — speared a possible game-tying bloop off the bat of Andrés Giménez, then threw again to second to double off Barger and ship the sequence to Recreation 7.
The 34-year-old Hernández, whose versatility and knack for developing huge within the postseason have made him a significant a part of 5 pennant winners courting again to 2017, began all 17 video games of the Dodgers’ championship run, two at third base in opposition to robust lefties whereas Muncy sat, two in heart subject, and the remaining in left. By the primary three rounds of the postseason, he hit 306/.375/.417 because the Dodgers steamrolled Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee, and had sufficient huge hits so as to add to the lore of “Señor Octubre.” He hit a game-tying double off the Reds’ Zack Littell within the fourth inning of Recreation 2 of the Wild Card Sequence. His two-run double off the Phillies’ Cristopher Sánchez within the sixth inning of Recreation 1 of the NLDS helped the Dodgers dig their method out of a 3-0 gap, and his stroll in opposition to Orion Kerkering within the eleventh inning of Recreation 4 arrange the walk-off error that ended the sequence. He collected a pair of hits that helped stoke rallies in Recreation 2 of the NLCS in opposition to the Brewers, and his single off Max Scherzer within the fifth inning of Recreation 3 of the World Sequence keyed a two-run, game-tying rally.
Hernández is a profession .272/.339/.486 (122 wRC+) hitter within the postseason, although he’s hit simply .236/.305/.403 (91 wRC+) in the course of the common season in his 12-year profession — a distinction he has attributed to his his attention-deficit/hyperactivity dysfunction. “I feel my superpower can be my kryptonite — that’s known as ADHD,” he advised teammate Mookie Betts for a podcast after the Dodgers’ 2024 championship. “Through the season, my mind is simply all over the place and the postseason, it simply brings out hyperfocus. I simply go into compete mode.”
The 2025 common season was one other subpar one for Hernández, who hit .203/.255/.366 with 10 homers and a 70 wRC+, his lowest mark since 2016. He missed seven weeks in July and August attributable to irritation in his left elbow, and stated that he’d been taking part in damage for a couple of month earlier than that, traceable to a headfirst slide into house plate in late Could. That helps to elucidate the .109/.169/.200 he hit in 59 plate appearances from June 1 by July 5 earlier than occurring the IL. In mid-November, he underwent surgical procedure to restore a torn extensor tendon within the elbow.
“I performed until, principally, I felt like I couldn’t even maintain the bat anymore,” he stated upon returning to the roster in August. “And I imply, it was type of dumb on my finish. However I’ve all the time felt that if I really feel like I may play, I’m not going to go on the IL. By the point we went in for the MRI, it was just a little too late.”
Hernández’s 31.2% chase charge, 13.2% swinging strike charge, and 26.6% strikeout charge all set profession highs, with the final of these a seven-point bounce from final season, the majors’ seventh-largest improve. As soon as once more, he was higher in opposition to lefties (.202/.269/.415, 85 wRC+) than righties (.203/.245/.333, 59 wRC+), and was very strong on the defensive facet whereas filling in at 5 positions (first, second, third, left, and heart), although the much less stated about his mopup reduction efficiency (a 15.19 ERA in 5 1/3 innings), the higher.
Hernández will make $4.5 million on a one-year deal, a considerable reduce from final 12 months’s $6.5 million. It’s not clear but whether or not he’ll be prepared in time for Opening Day, however as soon as lively, he figures to contribute at second base, third base, left subject, and heart subject, serving as a platoon associate and/or late-inning defensive alternative.
The 31-year-old Phillips is only one of a number of pitchers whom the Andrew Friedman-era Dodgers have coaxed extra out of than their earlier groups. When the Dodgers plucked him off waivers from the Rays in August 2021, he owned a 7.26 ERA in 57 main league innings. After they helped him to show his slider right into a devastating sweeper, and so as to add a sinker and cutter to fight lefties, he emerged as among the best relievers in baseball, posting a 2.21 ERA and a pair of.76 FIP with 44 saves and a 29.6% strikeout charge in 179 innings from 2022–24. He added 15 1/3 scoreless postseason innings (together with 2021), although he was left off the 2024 World Sequence roster attributable to what was finally recognized as a partial tear of his proper rotator cuff, suffered throughout Recreation 6 of the NLCS in opposition to the Mets. Whereas he managed to keep away from surgical procedure for that damage, a bout of elbow irritation final spring led to a PRP injection, then he made simply seven appearances totaling 5 2/3 innings in late April and early Could earlier than needing Tommy John surgical procedure, which he underwent on June 4.
The Dodgers non-tendered Phillips in November however maintained curiosity in bringing him again, even after touchdown free agent nearer Edwin Díaz. Phillips will make $6.5 million for what’s more likely to be about half a season of labor; that the crew positioned him on the 60-day IL with a view to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Hernández suits that timeline, as he’ll be roughly a 12 months faraway from surgical procedure as soon as eligible for activation.
With Phillips out, Roberts will possible depend on lefties Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia and righties Blake Treinen and Brusdar Graterol for the higher-leverage work in entrance of Díaz, although that group provides appreciable uncertainty. Scott led the Dodgers with 23 saves however posted a 4.74 ERA and missed the postseason attributable to “a lower-body abscess,” which doesn’t sound like one thing anybody needs to know extra about. Graterol underwent surgical procedure to restore a torn labrum in November 2024 after making simply seven appearances that 12 months, and didn’t pitch in any respect final season. Treinen missed 99 days in midseason attributable to forearm tightness; he posted a 3.12 ERA by August earlier than an ineffective September ballooned that mark to five.40 with a 4.75 FIP. His each postseason look grew to become a white-knuckle affair, as he yielded a 6.75 ERA in 5 1/3 innings. Lefties Jack Dreyer and Justin Wrobleski and righties Will Klein and Ben Casparius may work their method up the leverage ladder if there’s a gap, however one have a look at all these query marks helps to elucidate why Los Angeles feels it wants Phillips.
Whereas the Dodgers are working it again with these guys, Rortvedt and Banda have been squeezed off the roster. Again in November, they re-signed Rortvedt — who’s out of choices and must consent to a minor league task — to a one-year, $1.25 million deal, hoping that his wage would stop him from being picked up off waivers. The Reds chosen him, however after signing free agent Eugenio Suárez earlier this month, they DFA’d Rortvedt, and the Dodgers reclaimed him. The addition of Phillips to the 40-man roster has led to yet one more journey by the DFA wringer, which must be irritating.
The 28-year-old Rortvedt — “Benny Biceps” for his weightlifter physique — cut up his season between the Rays and Dodgers, filling in for Smith in September and early October because the starter recovered from a hairline fracture in his proper hand. Rortvedt hit simply .152/.240/.205 (31 wRC+) total however a extra respectable .224/.309/.327 (83 wRC+) in 58 plate appearances for the Dodgers, then went 3-for-7 whereas beginning the crew’s first 4 video games of the postseason. Nonetheless, he solely figured to be third on the depth chart behind Smith and Dalton Speeding, so his maintain on a roster spot was all the time tenuous.
As for Banda, he’s one other success story like Phillips. Previous to being traded from the Guardians to the Dodgers in Could 2024 for money issues, he hung out in 11 completely different organizations after being drafted by the Brewers within the tenth spherical in 2012, by no means making greater than 32 appearances or throwing greater than 33 2/3 innings in a significant league season. Inside a day of his acquisition, Dodgers assistant pitching coach Connor McGuiness helped Banda alter his grip on his slider. From The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya:
He instructed Banda to attempt to grip the baseball with a “spike,” digging the nail of his index finger into the seam to impression motion and spin. The instruction was easy: Goal down the center, throw it like a fastball and let it rip.
“It hooked immediately,” Banda stated. Fairly than loop, the slider moved sharply. As an alternative of feeling like he was guiding the pitch, he threw it emphatically with out sacrificing command.
“It was like a ‘thanks’ second. I went by, what, 11 organizations? And nobody may discover that for me. He did it inside 24 hours.”
That slider changed into a go-to, with Banda throwing it 28.2% of the time in 2024 and 49.2% in ’25. Batters hit simply .147 and slugged .263 in opposition to the providing whereas whiffing on 42.2% of their swings in that span. After making 48 appearances totaling 49 2/3 innings in 2024, he set profession highs with 71 appearances and 65 innings in ’25, placing up a 3.18 ERA and 4.52 FIP; he struck out 22.8% of hitters whereas strolling 12.7%, although six of his 34 walks have been intentional. Lefties hit a meager .153/.241/.255 (.226 wOBA) in 112 plate appearances in opposition to him, although righties hit .229/.346/.427 (.326 wOBA) in 156 plate appearances. In a bullpen filled with southpaws — Scott, Vesia, Dreyer, and maybe Wrobleski — Banda grew to become expendable, and the Dodgers dealt him to the Twins for $500,000 value of worldwide bonus cash.
The Friedman-era Dodgers have spent large quantities of cash on stars and superstars whereas making 11 straight postseason appearances; their payroll for Aggressive Stability Tax functions presently sits at a staggering $405.2 million. Even so, the crew’s skill to show the likes of Muncy, Hernández, Phillips, and Banda — and Justin Turner, and Chris Taylor, and so forth — from fringy journeymen into dependable contributors has outlined this period as a lot because the marquee free brokers. No surprise these guys preserve coming again for extra.