Dodgers pick up club options on Max Muncy and Alex Vesia

Now a two-time defenseman World Series champion Dodgers made their first moves of the offseason on Thursday.

The biggest one ensures a familiar face will be back in the three-peat chase next year.

The team picked up the $10 million club option for the third baseman. Max MuncyThe longest-tenured member of the roster will return for what will be his ninth season in Los Angeles, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The Dodgers also acquired a club option on the pitcher for $3.55 million. Alex Vecia (keeping him out of arbitration), according to several people familiar with the situation who were not authorized to speak publicly. They also shook up the 40-man roster with a series of maneuvers, including Tony Gonolin being assigned to a task.

Neither move was too surprising, starting with the option the Dodgers exercised at the end of the two-year, $24 million contract Muncy signed in the 2023 offseason.

Even at 35, Muncy was a relative bargain at $10 million next season for a player who, before second-half injuries, shook off a slow start to the year to become one of the top hitters in the majors in May and June.

His return will also help keep a key part of the club's veteran core intact, bringing back a player who has… Clayton KershawAfter retiring, he was with the Dodgers longer than anyone else.

The 2025 season got off to a rocky start for Muncie. After an offseason that included trade rumors involving Nolan Arenado and a spring training spent dealing with the lingering effects of an oblique and rib injury that limited him in 2024, Muncy hit .176 in his first 34 games and hit just one home run.

However, at the beginning of May he started wearing glasses to solve the problem of astigmatism in the right eye. Around the same time, he also found a breakthrough in his swing that helped him start punishing fastballs in the zone. From May 7 through the end of June, he hit .315 with 12 home runs and a 1.039 OPS, among the best of his 10-year, two-time All-Star career.

That streak was broken on July 2 when Muncy suffered a knee injury after sliding to third base. His comeback a month later was also cut short when his oblique began to bother him during training in August.

These IL performances preceded a September slump that carried into the postseason, with Muncy hitting just .173 in Game 7 of the World Series.

But he collected three hits that night, hit a game-tying home run in the eighth inning off Trey Yesavage that brought the Dodgers back from within one run, and became one of six players to contribute to all three of the Dodgers' recent World Series titles.

“It’s getting a little comfortable here,” he joked from the stage at the Dodgers’ World Series celebration on Monday. “Let's continue.”

Vecia will also be in this three-peat race and he also picked up his $3.55 million club option on Thursday. Vecia included the option in the contract he signed last offseason to avoid arbitration. Next year will be his last under team control before free agency.

Vecia has been one of the few consistent performers in the Dodgers bullpen this year, posting a 3.02 ERA in a career-high 68 appearances. He was also one of their most reliable relievers in the playoffs, bouncing back from a two-run exit in the first wild-card series with 4 ⅓ scoreless innings the rest of the way.

He was not available for World Series as he and his wife dealt with what the team called a “deeply personal family matter.” But he figures to be a key cog in their bullpen again next season, establishing himself as one of the best left-handed pitchers in the sport.

The only notable deduction from Thursday's roster came in the news of Gonsolin's DFA. The right-hander was an All-Star in 2022 but has made just 27 starts since then due to two elbow surgeries (Tommy John in 2023 and an internal brace last year). The latter procedure will likely sideline him next season, which will be his last under team control.

Gonsolin was one of three cuts made to Thursday's 40-man roster as an outfielder. Justin Dean (a member of the Dodgers' postseason roster) and injured pitcher Michael Grove (also coming off a lost season due to surgery) were both sent to the minors. The vacancies made way for outfielder Ryan Ward (the 2025 Triple-A Pacific Coast League MVP) and left-handed pitcher Robinson Ortiz (a 25-year-old who moved up from the majors to Triple-A last year) to be added to the 40-man roster.