Max Muncy's Silver Slugger case can cement his wildly underrated Dodgers legacy

Someway, somehow, Max Muncy has never won a Silver Slugger in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform. Since 2018, his breakout year in LA, Nolan Arenado, Anthony Rendon, Manny Machado, and Austin Riley have stolen his thunder in the National League third basemen category.

Riley has arguably been his greatest obstacle in years past; the Atlanta Braves' infielder won in 2021 and 2023 with a 33-homer, 107-RBI season and 37-homer, 97-homer season, respectively. Those happened to be two of Muncy's best by a couple of key counting stats; he hit 36 homers with 94 RBI in 2021 and 36 homers with 105 RBI in 2023.

But Riley's decline since that 2023 season has been drastic. He's no threat to Muncy this season, batting .223/.662 with 15 homers and 60 RBI in 130 games.

Machado is the reigning champion, having won in both 2024 and 2025. He still might give Muncy some trouble among the voting populous, but this season is shaping up to give him the best shot at an award he should arguably already have.

Max Muncy should be the clear frontrunner for elusive Silver Slugger

He currently leads qualified NL third basemen in homers (26), and OPS (.858). It's not his best offensive season by any means, but the fact that he can still put himself on a 30+ homer pace in his age-35 season is part of what will always make him one of the Dodgers' most prized reclamation projects — if not their crowning jewel.

At the end of the day, Muncy won't be a Hall of Famer. The Dodgers probably aren't going to retire his number. But he's been one of the most consistent parts of their lineup since the dynasty kicked off in earnest in 2020, faithfully delivering an average 26 home runs and 73 RBI pers season. It would be hard to comprehend him ending his career without a single Silver Slugger.

This isn't to say that Silver Sluggers should be handed out as a consolation, nor that Muncy deserves it as one. He is provably the best offensive third baseman in the National League by key metrics this season. If he continues to outpace Machado in home runs or even ends up running away with that race, there shouldn't be much of debate.

In fact, Muncy very well could be the Dodgers' only representative this year. Shohei Ohtani's reign at DH may be over, Matt Olson looks like a shoo-in at first base, CJ Abrams at shortstop, and so on. If Muncy ends up being LA's lone winner, he's a good one.

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