WEST SACRAMENTO – Two years into his Major League career, Max Muncy is developing an unwanted reputation for tough-luck injuries.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s 4-1 loss to the Royals in 10 innings at Sutter Health Park, the Athletics placed Muncy on the 10-day injured list with a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand. The third baseman’s IL placement is retroactive to Sunday, putting his earliest potential return date as May 6, though the A’s do not have a timetable for his return at this point.
For the second consecutive season, Muncy will miss time as a result of getting hit on the hand by a pitch. His rookie campaign last season was shortened after he sustained a right hand fracture as a result of a hit-by-pitch against the Rangers in July.
This injury also stems from getting hit by a pitch against the Rangers on April 13. Muncy attempted to play through the discomfort, though there was a clear drop-off in production before and after the injury occurred.
Entering April 13, Muncy was batting .305 with an .853 OPS, two home runs, five doubles and a triple over his first 15 games. From April 13-25, Muncy hit just .121 with one extra-base hit and 15 strikeouts in 11 games. An MRI on Monday revealed a non-displaced fracture at the neck of the fifth metacarpal (pinky finger) in Muncy’s left hand.
“Another just unfortunate, I don’t want to say ‘freak’ injury, because guys get hit,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “But it just seems like, second year in a row, it’s an injury that doesn’t generally happen that frequently. For [Muncy], it’s bad luck, really.”
Muncy will be shut down from all baseball activities for at least the next few days as the club waits to see how his finger progresses. In his absence, Darell Hernaiz is expected to receive the majority of playing time at third base going forward. Brett Harris, who was recalled from Triple-A on Tuesday, will provide bench depth as a versatile option around the infield.
Kotsay has referenced Hernaiz in the past as someone he believes is capable of emerging as an everyday player if a need on the infield were to arise. Hernaiz impressed the team while filling in for an injured Jacob Wilson at shortstop last year, and he’ll now get an opportunity at regular playing time once again.
“We’re confident Darell is ready for that opportunity,” Kotsay said. “He’s a plus defender. He’s shown that. … He grinds at-bats out. I think this is an opportunity for him to get consistent at-bats and see the growth that I think is in there for Darell.”
Hernaiz does not bring the same type of thump to the lineup as Muncy, though he has shown to be a hitter who constantly battles at the plate early on, including in the eighth inning on Tuesday, as he worked a two-out walk in a tie game to load the bases before Jeff McNeil flied out one batter later to end the threat.
“Obviously, I don’t want to see Muncy go down because he’s one of my best friends,” Hernaiz said. “I hope he gets well soon. As far as me, I really just want to win every game. Whatever I can do to help is what I’m going to do. I feel great. I feel like I’ve been taking good at-bats, just maybe not getting results right now.”
Hernaiz was one of several hitters unable to produce that clutch knock. Despite matching the Royals with eight hits, the A’s went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base. That left the A’s bullpen with no room for mistakes, and the relievers went nearly mistake-free in relief of starter Aaron Civale, who tossed five scoreless innings, until Justin Sterner surrendered a back-breaking go-ahead three-run homer to Bobby Witt Jr. in the 10th.
“That’s the story of the night, really,” Kotsay said. “We won a game on Sunday where we left 11 guys on base. Right now, we’re not getting that hit that we need to extend leads and have some margin for error. … We played a really good game, except our offense couldn’t get a [big] hit.”