Dodgers Notes: Muncy, Alexander, Turner, Lux

Let’s check in on the best team in the National League…

• Expectations are that the Dodgers will activate infielder Max Muncy from the injured list Friday, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times relays. Muncy hasn’t played since he suffered a fractured right wrist Aug. 28, but it obviously wasn’t an overly serious injury. The 29-year-old is the Dodgers’ go-to option at second base, though his injury helped open the door for the promotion of highly touted prospect Gavin Lux, who has performed well over a small sample of plate appearances thus far. But Muncy’s among the Dodgers’ best hitters, evidenced by his .253/.375/.525 line with 33 home runs in 534 PA, and they’ll be happy to welcome him back with a couple weeks left before the playoffs begin.
• Left-handed reliever Scott Alexander underwent surgery to address a nerve issue in his pitching hand, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets. The 30-year-old, who hasn’t pitched since the first week of June, wasn’t going to return this season anyway. It’s unclear, though, how long it will take him to recover from this procedure. Alexander has thrown just 17 1/3 innings this year on account of forearm issues. While Alexander was among the game’s foremost southpaw relievers as recently as 2017, when he was with the Royals, his two years with the Dodgers have been somewhat disappointing. He owns a 3.67 ERA/3.88 FIP with 7.02 K/9 and 3.67 BB/9 across 83 1/3 innings as a Dodger, though he has posted an eye-popping 68.5 percent groundball rate in that span.
• More from Plunkett, who reports that third baseman Justin Turner is day-to-day with a mild ankle sprain. That’s a relief for Los Angeles, which has gone without Turner’s services since last Saturday. The 34-year-old went without a hit in two at-bats then, but has otherwise enjoyed yet another outstanding season. Turner’s a .291/.370/.514 hitter with 27 home runs and 3.4 fWAR in 538 trips to the plate.
• Dodgers director of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino recently reflected on the drafting of Lux in a chat with Kyle Glaser of Baseball America. Although Lux just won Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year honors, it was seen as something of a reach when the Dodgers chose the former Wisconsin high schooler 20th overall in the 2016 draft. He impressed Dodgers scouts throughout that year, though, and when the draft rolled around, they took him over an unidentified college pitcher who was also high on their board. “His overall talent level and character assessments were so high, we just felt like, a little bit of liking him just a little bit more than the college pitcher and some of just draft strategy of taking the bat there and getting pitching later,” Gasparino said. The 21-year-old Lux has since surpassed the organization’s expectations, according to Gasparino.