Max

Muncy

Clarke is finally back 4 1/2 months after suffering a right foot bone bruise and nearly 3 1/2 months since he strained a hamstring on his initial rehab assignment. He just hit .353 with two homers in 11 games for Triple-A Las Vegas, and he should finish out the season as the Athletics’ primary center fielder. Henry Bolte can slide over to left, giving the A’s maybe the game’s best defensive outfield. Carlos Cortes will likely spend more time at DH, taking at-bats away from Max Muncy.

Muncy was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on the day before driving the only pitch he saw from Aroldis Chapman off the Green Monster. It was a little bit surprising to see Muncy start today. Technically, it was the Athletics’ fourth straight game facing a lefty starter, but in this case, it was just an opener in Erik Miller. Muncy got the nod anyway and obviously played the entire game. With the Rays set to throw righties in all three games of their upcoming series, Muncy could head back to the bench in favor of Donovan Walton on Monday.

Muncy still needs to prove he should be in the Athletics’ plans for 2027, so he ought to get a lot of time at third base for the A’s with Nick Kurtz down. He’s hit .223/.298/.389 in 178 plate appearances in the majors this season.

Gulp. Hopefully, Kurtz will prove to be fine after being hit by a pitch in Wednesday’s game. If not, the A’s would probably recall Max Muncy and put him at third and Tommy White at first for now.

Muncy was only up with the Athletics for a handful of games after rookie Joshua Kuroda-Grauer suffered an unfortunate groin injury that required surgery earlier this week. The 23-year-old retreats to the minors with slugger Nick Kurtz coming back from the injured list.

Muncy returns to the big leagues with rookie Joshua Kuroda-Grauer (groin) requiring a trip to the injured list. The 23-year-old infielder was demoted earlier this month after hitting .210 with three homers in 20 games after returning from the injured list on June 8.

Since coming off the injured list on June 8th, Muncy has hit .210/.296/.387 with three home runs, 13 RBI, and a 29.6 percent strikeout rate in 20 games. He has a 9.5 percent barrel rate over that stretch, but is not making consistent enough contact, and with Tyler Soderstrom and Jacob Wilson back off the IL, the Athletics had no room for Muncy. They will likely move forward with Zack Gelof as their primary third baseman.

Muncy’s homer brought the Athletics to within 14-8 in the fifth inning. Not a typo. He also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Muncy is now hitting .236/.298/.409 in his 31 games and 110 at-bats.

Muncy’s double tied the game at 4-4 in the sixth. He also singled and scored to make it 6-4 in the eighth. Muncy is 3-for-12 with four RBI in three games since coming off the injured list. His sky-high strikeout rate and middling defense make it unclear whether he’s the right option for the A’s at third base, but he should be in line for plenty of playing time now with Zack Gelof likely to make starts all over the place.

There are once again two Max Muncys in the big leagues, with the Athletics’ version returning after nearly six weeks on the shelf with a fractured finger. The 23-year-old returns to his previous post as the club’s starting third baseman ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Brewers in Las Vegas. He offers a little bit of power and speed, but is unlikely to do enough in either department to net out as an impact fantasy contributor outside of AL-only leagues.