Max Muncy set for seven innings in Las Vegas rehab stint

Max Muncy’s hand is being asked to do more than collect rehab at-bats now. Seven innings in Las Vegas turned this assignment into a real checkpoint, and the Athletics are watching to see whether the left-handed swing that already produced a double, two RBIs and a homer can keep holding up.

Muncy went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs in a rehab game on June 5, then homered in a June 6 outing that showed the bat speed is there if the fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand cooperates. For Oakland, that matters because Muncy is not just another name on the injured list. He is a 23-year-old first-round pick from 2021, drafted 25th overall, and one of the club’s young infield pieces. Before the injury, he hit .239 with a .710 OPS in 92 MLB at-bats this season. In Triple-A, he has looked sharper, batting .316 with a .879 OPS, one homer and six RBIs in 19 at-bats.

The path back has been long enough to make every swing count. The Athletics placed Muncy on the 10-day injured list on April 28 after a pitch from the Rangers on April 13 broke the fifth metacarpal in his left hand. It was the second straight season he has lost time after being hit on the hand by a pitch, after a right-hand fracture in July 2025 cut short his rookie year. That history is why the A’s are not treating this as a formality. They need the hand to handle game speed, not just batting practice, before the mid-June return window becomes real.

The upside is immediate if the hand keeps responding. Oakland could get back a 23-year-old infielder whose power and contact started to show before the injury, and whose Triple-A line suggests the bat is ready to matter again. That would give the Athletics a much-needed boost on the left side of the infield, especially if Muncy’s rehab swings keep translating into game damage the way they did in Las Vegas.

Muncy’s rehab is part of a broader health picture for the Athletics, who also have Aaron Civale moving forward after he opened a throwing progression on June 1 because of right shoulder tendinitis. Civale was placed on the injured list on May 26, and there is no firm timetable, though a late-June return is in view. For Muncy, though, the calendar is tighter and the stakes are clearer: if the hand keeps responding, Oakland may be looking at a return that shifts from possibility to planning.