Dodgers Land 3 Silver Slugger Nominations Despite Late-Season Struggles
· Yahoo Sports
The Los Angeles Dodgers are up for three Silver Slugger awards in 2026, hoping to bring home some hardware after a successful regular season.
The Dodgers, despite their age and injuries, found a way to win 100 games this season, which was no small feat, as the catcher room was decimated by injuries and the starting rotation was never fully healthy at any point this year.
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LA overcame all of this with a steady stream of offense in the first half of the season, led by their two Silver Slugger nominees.
Max Muncy and Shohei Ohtani are the individual players up for the award, while the Dodgers are also a finalist as a team.
Mar 18, 2025; Bunkyo, Tokyo, JPN; Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani (17) prepares to bat during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs during the Tokyo Series at Tokyo Dome. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn ImagesMax Muncy’s case
Muncy had a sensational season, playing in 149 games, hitting 29 home runs, driving in 79 runs, and posting a 4.1 fWAR.
His weighted runs created were 29% above league average, making him an offensive spark plug.
Muncy is in a good spot to take home the award, as he leads the National League in wRC+ among third basemen, ranks second in above-average offensive rating behind Alex Bregman, and leads the NL in weighted on-base average and slugging.
Muncy’s rival will be Bregman, who leads the league in home runs and RBIs and has a higher offensive rating, per FanGraphs.
Oct 15, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy (13) reacts after a strike out during the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers in game four of the NLCS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn ImagesShohei Ohtani’s case
Ohtani is up against Kyle Schwarber for the designated hitter Silver Slugger, and it will be a tough race.
The Japanese star has only 30 home runs compared to Schwarber’s 45, and 81 RBIs compared to the Phillies player’s 97.
However, across broader metrics, Ohtani leads him in average, on-base percentage, slugging, weighted on-base average, expected weighted on-base average, offensive rating, and wRC+, per FanGraphs.
It will be an interesting case of raw counting stats versus deeper metrics.
The Dodgers’ case
Despite the offense struggling so much in October, the Dodgers team is up for a Silver Slugger.
They’re up against the Cubs, Brewers, and Nationals.
Los Angeles has little to no chance of winning this award given how the Cubs dominate in almost every statistical category.
They either lead the league or beat the Dodgers in both counting stats and advanced metrics, blowing LA out of the water.
Given how the Dodgers struggled in August and September, it is impressive that they got the nomination for the award.
Their dog-days struggles likely took them out of the running as the Cubs pulled away.