Scary Max Muncy knee injury has Dodgers fans in a panic

Lost among all the jubilation surrounding Clayton Kershaw's 3,000th strikeout and the Los Angeles Dodgers come-from-behind win against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday night, was the fact that LA could soon be without one of the biggest bats. Dodgers' third baseman Max Muncy suffered a gruesome injury on Wednesday night, and it was so bad that LA SportsNet didn't show the replay.

White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor was attempting to steal third base and Dodgers catcher Will Smith threw a perfect strike to the covering Muncy in time to record the second out of the inning, setting the stage of Kershaw's record-setting 3,000th punch out. But that wasn't the story at the moment.

As Taylor slid into third base, he collided with Muncy's left knee. The spikes of the Dodgers' third baseman's cleats appeared to catch enough of the turf that when Taylor slid in headfirst, Muncy's leg remained affixed to the ground. The result was Muncy's knee bending in an awkward direction, and the training staff quickly came out to assist as the infielder was writhing in pain.

Scary Max Muncy knee injury has Dodgers fans in a panic

After a few minutes, Muncy was helped off the field by the training staff and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Muncy could not bear any weight on his left leg as he limped toward the dugout. He was replaced Kiké Hernandez at the hot corner.

Max Muncy had to be helped off the field with an apparent knee injury pic.twitter.com/HuIc4HBpoA
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 3, 2025

If this was a football game, it would've been a 15-yard penalty. However, there was no ill-intent on the part of Taylor — Smith's throw took Muncy into the base path and as Taylor slid into the bag, his helmet came into contact with the side of the infielder's kneee.

After the game, the Dodgers manager said the team was hopeful that it was just a sprain. "A lot of the tests that they did right now, we feel optimistic," Roberts said. "And I think that our hope is that it's a sprain." Muncy will undergo an MRI on Thursday to discover the full extent of the injury.

Either way — whether it's a sprain or something worse — it's highly likely that Muncy is headed for the IL. In his absence, expect LA to choose between one of Hernandez or Miguel Rojas to take over at third base. If the damage is substantial, it could force the Dodgers to explore the trade market in order to fill the potential void left if Muncy is saddled with a significant injury.