LOS ANGELES _ The Dodgers and Max Muncy agreed to a three-year contract extension Thursday to avoid arbitration, according to two people with knowledge of the situation.
The deal is worth at least a guaranteed $26 million. It includes a $13 million team option for a fourth season or a $1.5 million buyout. The deal buys out three years of arbitration and possibly Muncy's first year of free agency. He will receive a $4 million signing bonus with salaries of $1 million in 2020, $7.5 million in 2021 and $11.5 million in 2022.
Muncy, 29, has risen from castoff to one of the top sluggers in baseball since arriving in Los Angeles in 2018. He has hit 35 home runs in each of his two seasons with the Dodgers, becoming the fifth Dodger in history to club at least 35 in back-to-back years.
He made his first All-Star team last season, finishing with a .251 batting average and an .889 on-base-plus-slugging percentage while splitting most of his time between first base and second base. He was one of the few offensive bright spots in the Dodgers' five-game loss to the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series, with three home runs and four walks in 23 plate appearances.
With Gavin Lux, the organization's top prospect, knocking on the door at second base, Muncy figures to primarily play first base in 2020, with Cody Bellinger shifting to center field.
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