Dodgers bring back Max Muncy, send Tommy Edman to IL

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers activated third baseman Max Muncy off the injured list Monday and placed utility man Tommy Edman on the IL because of a right ankle injury.

Edman suffered what the Dodgers called a sprain while rounding first base in the fifth inning of Sunday’s road game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Edman, 30, missed the first two weeks of May because of a right ankle injury and had been struggling since he came back, slashing .214/.273/.323 over a 56-game stretch.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t provide a timeline for Edman’s return but said he would “be back at some point.” The Dodgers don’t want to bring him back until he is fully healed this time.

“Where we’re at on the calendar,” Roberts said, “we’ve got to make sure we do everything on the front end that we don’t have a setback.”

Muncy returned to his customary No. 5 spot for the opener of a three-game home series against the St. Louis Cardinals. He finished 0-for-3 and ended the game with a line out in the bottom of the ninth.

A little more than a month ago, he didn’t think he’d return to the field this year.

In the sixth inning on July 2, with Clayton Kershaw a strikeout away from 3,000, Chicago White Sox outfielder Michael A. Taylor slid headfirst into Muncy’s left knee. Muncy said his initial thought was, “I’ve got to get off this field so Kersh can keep pitching.” As he went down the tunnel, Muncy was convinced his season was finished.

With Muncy on the trainer’s table, the Dodgers’ medical personnel examined his left leg. He was told the knee felt strong, that the swelling wasn’t nearly as bad as anticipated. An MRI the following morning revealed no structural damage.

“As I was laying there on the ground that night, I thought for sure, ‘This is it,'” Muncy said. “At that time, obviously, you have a million things that start going through your mind. Obviously, they’re all the worst. It’s hard to stay positive in a moment like that. But just trying to be thankful and blessed to be able to get back on the baseball field this year. I’m going to try to enjoy every second of it knowing how close it was to not being there for me.”