Dodgers notes: Max Muncy gets a reset, Mookie Betts stays hot, Tony Gonsolin thriving

Max Muncy was placed on the injured list Saturday, giving the Dodgers infielder time to reset after a rough start to his season.

Left elbow inflammation is the malady for Muncy, which was aggravated trying to make a play into the netting at Nationals Park on Monday. Muncy missed the postseason last year with a dislocated elbow, and later revealed damage to his ulnar collateral ligament.

Muncy reiterated Saturday that surgery was and is not in the plans. From Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register:

“Surgery was never an option for me,” he said. “It was never put on the table for me just because – you’d have to ask the doctors to medically explain why. I don’t understand it. But they said that it was never an option.”

As for when Muncy might return, thats has yet to be determined, but it seems like longer than a 10-day stint on the injured list. Per Plunkett, Roberts told Muncy not to swing a bat during the entire four-game series in Arizona. Muncy’s timetable will be determined by how he feels.

For now, it’s a chance for rest for Muncy, who started 39 of the Dodgers’ first 43 games, and played in two of those first four games he didn’t start. From Juan Toribio at MLB.com:

“It’s one of those things where it’s ingrained in me that I need to be out there playing no matter what,” Muncy said. “I’ve been grinding through some things. But unfortunately, I’ve been trying to put my body on the line, and I just need to take a step back for a couple days and just reset and give my body a chance to heal up.”

Links

Sarah Langs at MLB.com took a deep dive into Mookie Betts’ incredible run, which he added to with another home run on Saturday. Among his traits in the now month-long hot streak are hitting the ball hard more than half the time and cutting down his whiff rate.

I missed this a few days ago, before Tony Gonsolin’s latest win on Saturday, but Plunkett profiled Gonsolin at the Orange County Register. Pitching coach Mark Prior said of Gonsolin, “I think the main thing is he’s really understanding what his arsenal is and what makes him unique.”

Among the postgame notes from Saturday was that Craig Kimbrel was not held out because of throwing 26 pitches the night before. Kimbrel was available, but just wasn’t feeling well, and Roberts opted for Daniel Hudson to close out the ninth instead. Jack Harris at the Los Angeles Times has more.

Among the participants in Saturday’s Hall of Fame Classic, an exhibition game in Cooperstown, included former Dodgers Steve Sax, Bobby Abreu, David Freese, and Todd Zeile. Bill Francis at the HOF has more.