The Dodgers have exercised a $10MM club option to bring back third baseman Max Muncy. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic was among those to relay the news. They will also pick up their $3.65MM option on left-hander Alex Vesia, per Ardaya. In other news, Ardaya notes that the Dodgers are adding outfielder Ryan Ward to the 40-man roster.
There was never much suspense about these decisions. Munch has been a key contributor on the Dodgers for close to a decade now. He missed some time this year due to a bone bruise in his left knee and an oblique strain, but still managed to produce when he was on the field. He hit 19 home runs in 100 games and drew a walk in 16.5% of his 388 plate appearances. He put up a .243/.376/.470 line, which translates to a 137 wRC+.
He and the Dodgers clearly love each other, as the two parties have worked out multiple contract extensions. They signed a three-year, $26MM deal back in 2020. Late in 2022, they tacked another year on. After the 2023 season, they signed a two-year, $24MM extension with a $10MM club option for 2026 with no buyout. Barring some kind of surprising offseason trade, Muncy will be back to man third base for the Dodgers in his age-35 season.
Vesia, 30 in April, is going into his third and final arbitration season. In January of 2025, he and the Dodgers appeared headed for a hearing to decide on his 2025 salary. He had filed at $2.35MM with the team at $2.05MM. They avoided that hearing by agreeing to a one-year deal plus a club option for 2026. Vesia would get a $2.3MM guarantee in the form of a $2.25MM salary in 2025 plus a $50K buyout on the $3.55MM club option. Vesia could add $50K to the option by pitching in 60 games with another $50K for 65 games, plus another $75K for 70 games. He got into 68 contests this year, therefore bumping the option price to $3.65MM.
His performance was quite strong this year. He logged 59 2/3 innings with a 3.02 earned run average, 33.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate. He also made seven postseason appearances, though he had to miss the World Series due to a family matter.
Even if the Dodgers turned down the option, Vesia still would have been controllable via arbitration. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Vesia for a $4.1MM salary next year. If the Dodgers had similar projections internally, then picking up the option was the cheaper path. It’s also the easier path, when considering the sides almost went to a hearing last year and Vesia has been dealing with that aforementioned family matter. Put it all together and triggering the option was the obvious call.
Ward, 28 in February, gets added to the roster to prevent him from becoming a minor league free agent. The Dodgers selected him in the eighth round of the draft back in 2019. He has proven to be a reliable power bat in the minors, having hit between 21 and 36 homers in each season since 2021. He hit 36 long balls in Triple-A this year with a 12.7% walk rate and 18.7% strikeout rate. He slashed .290/.380/.557 for a 132 wRC+.
A grain of salt is required since that was his third year at the level. He’s a bit old to be considered a prospect. He is also graded as a poor defender, even in an outfield corner. However, the Dodgers didn’t want him to get away. The Dodgers obviously have a strong roster but the outfield is a relative weak spot. The Michael Conforto signing didn’t work out. Andy Pages saw his bat disappear in the playoffs. Teoscar Hernández had some timely hits but also some defensive and baserunning mistakes. Ward gives them a bat-first depth option with a full slate of options.
Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee, Imagn Images