Is it concerning for Dodgers that Max Muncy still hasn’t swung a bat?

The worst offseason in recent memory has left Los Angeles Dodgers fans in the dark in regard to far too many topics of discussion pertaining to the 2022 season.

One particular situation left many in relative shock, too. Months ago, Max Muncy provided an update on his status after suffering a horrible looking elbow injury in Game 162, which derailed the Dodgers’ playoff run.

Most were under the impression that the injury wasn’t overly significant, but it was enough to keep him out of a few weeks of action. It wasn’t entirely out of the question — after all, it was reported at the time that he could’ve potentially returned for the World Series if LA made it that far.

But then we learned Muncy, per him, suffered a partially-torn UCL, which is very much not something baseball players can shake off in a few weeks. Still, it was believed he’d be ready for the start of the 2022 season (even if it was going to start on time).

Max Muncy’s latest injury update doesn’t sound good for the Dodgers.

Then we had silence for months … until this week. And it was Muncy again providing insight into his situation … and, once again, it’s not very good. If the MLB season were actually to start in a month (it won’t), it’s hard to believe Muncy would be ready for action based on what he revealed.

Here’s what Muncy told the folks on the Bleed Los podcast:

"“It’s getting better. We’re getting there. It’s a slow process, but everything’s moving as it should. We’re actually going to start swinging a bat here pretty soon. So things are looking real good. And things are looking good for the season, whenever that may end up being.”"

If MLB and the players somehow reach an agreement at the new (fake imposed) deadline mandated by the owners, there’s no way Muncy would be ready for the start of the season. We’re a month away.

UCL injuries vary for position players because their arm usage is much different from that of pitchers, who usually need 12-15 months (sometimes more) for a full recovery and return to big league action.

But if we’re to look at a recent position player case, former New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius underwent Tommy John surgery in October of 2018 and returned to the field the first week of June in the 2019 season (which was just under eight months). Muncy is now almost five months out since the date he suffered his injury and he’s yet to swing a bat. Meanwhile, Gregorius began baseball activities four months after going under the knife.

What are we to make of Muncy’s status? It might be going a little bit slower than expected. It just shouldn’t be a surprise at this point if he misses a portion of the season or if his rehab continues to take a little longer than we’re anticipating.

Dodgers offseason takes another hit with awful Max Muncy injury update

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost Max Scherzer on Monday. Hours later, Max Muncy delivered some unsettling news on his injured elbow.