Muncy lands on IL with oblique strain

LOS ANGELES -- Before the Dodgers’ game against the Reds on Friday, the club announced that slugging third baseman Max Muncy was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right oblique strain.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Muncy felt a grab on his right side during batting practice before the opening game against the Reds on Thursday. Muncy had a scheduled day off on Thursday, but ended up seeing a doctor and scans revealed a mild right oblique strain.

“I think we got ahead of it,” Roberts said. “Certainly IL, as far as kind of giving him a handful of days to recover. I’m sure he’s not going to swing the bat for a couple, two, three days and the hope is he’ll be back on line on the 11th day.”

While the Dodgers are hopeful Muncy returns once his IL stint is up, not having the third baseman is a big blow to the lineup. Muncy has nine homers and has a .798 OPS in 139 at bats this season. Muncy, however, had been struggling at the plate over the last week, going 1-for-25 over his last seven games.

With Muncy sidelined, the Dodgers started Kiké Hernández at third base. Hernández and Miguel Rojas are expected to get the bulk of the work with Muncy sidelined. Chris Taylor could also be an option, but he hasn’t played much infield this season and has struggled at the plate.

Aside from placing Muncy on the injured list, the Dodgers also decided to make some more changes to their roster. James Outman, who has been the starting center fielder over the last year-plus, was optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City amid his offensive struggles.

Outman has a .519 OPS this season and wasn’t striking out at a high clip. With the emergence of rookie Andy Pages and Jason Heyward returning from the injured list, Outman was the odd man out.

“It was a tough one. I don’t think any of us expected to be in this position, given last year and our expectation for him this season,” Roberts said. “But with the inconsistencies, the struggles, Jason coming back, Andy’s play the last six weeks, we just felt that James needed an opportunity to go down and play every day.”

Miguel Vargas was also recalled, and the Dodgers hope the 24-year-old Cuban can give them some more life offensively. Vargas had a 1.019 OPS in Triple-A this season.

“Every guy, the main goal is to be here,” Vargas said. “And help the big league team to win a championship. That’s my goal every single day.”