TODAY: Muncy’s extension includes an escalator based on plate appearances, as explained by FanSided’s Robert Murray. He could earn up to $2.25MM in bonus money in 2026, just as he has made his 401st trip to the plate this season, Muncy will earn $15K in every PA up to his 550th plate appearance. His $7MM salary for 2027 could be boosted by an additional $3.75MM, as Muncy will earn $20K for each of his 401st to 500th plate appearances of the 2026 season, and $35K per PA from 501-550. This same $3.75MM bonus structure applies to the 2028 club option, based on his 2027 plate appearances.
FEBRUARY 12: The Dodgers announced Thursday that they have agreed to a one-year contract extension with the third baseman Max Muncy. He has now guaranteed an additional $10MM in the form of a $7MM salary in 2027 and a $3MM buyout with a $10MM club option for the 2028 campaign. Muncy was also acquired by Hub Sports Management.
As can be seen from a quick look at MLBTR’s Contract Tracker, this is the fourth extension in the last six years between the two teams. Muncy signed for three years. A $26MM contract that includes his arbitration age in 2020 and waived control of his first free agent season with a club option in the process. In Ag. In 2022, he agreed to a new deal that saw his club option for 2023 picked up in advance, with the Dodgers starting another year of control with a club option for the 2024 season. After the 2023 campaign, the Dodgers renegotiated a two-year, $24MM deal with a $10MM club option for the 2026 season, which the club exercised back in November.
The new deal now covers Muncy’s age 36 season (2027) and gives the Dodgers a total $7MM decision for his age 37 campaign. With this contract, he’s effectively locked into spending a decade with LA, as he makes his Dodger debut in 2018 after being cut by the A’s and signing a minor league deal.
Muncy will go down as one of the best minor league pitchers in recent memory. He quickly broke out in Los Angeles, hitting .263/.391/.582 with 35 home runs in his first Dodger campaign. He has been an above-average hitter in each of his eight seasons with LA thus far, save for the 2020 campaign where his .192/.331/.398 slash average checked out overall (98 wRC+).
Injuries have hampered Muncy in recent seasons, but he has been a threat in the batter’s box whenever healthy. He was limited to 100 games last season due to a knee injury and oblique strain, but Muncy still delivered a .243/.376/.470 slash with 19 home runs and a whopping (highest) 16.5% slugging rate in 388 plate appearances. He’s averaged just 111 games per season over the past four years and consistently has a low strikeout rate, but his good patience and above-average power continue to make him a productive player.
Muncy will reach 10 years of major league service on the 145th day of the 2026 season. During that time, he will receive 10 and 5 rights (10 years of service, the last five with the same team), giving him full veto rights over any potential trade situation. Today’s extension all but locks him into third base at Dodger Stadium for the next two seasons. Muncy hasn’t been an option at second in years now, anywhere Freddie Freeman signed through the 2027 season. Shohei Ohtaniyes, it will continue to take the team’s at-bats in designated hitters.
Muncy’s glove work has always drawn mixed reviews, and that has been no different in recent seasons. Defensive Runs Saved pegs him as the third-above-average quarterback over the past two seasons, while Statcast feels he was average in 2024 and slightly below average in 2025. The Dodgers, apparently, are comfortable with whatever defensive concessions they’ll need to make to keep Muncy’s consistent and highly effective right fielder on the fence.
While Muncy crushed lefties early in his career, his numbers in lefty-to-lefty matchups have gone south recently. He held his own against southpaws in 2024 but was significantly below average in 2023 and again in 2025, when he hit just .157/.250/.314 in 80 plate appearances. Platoon options at third base for the Dodgers include a veteran Miguel Rojas and switch-hitting top infield prospect Alex Freeland.
