The longer Max Muncy was out injured last year, the more the dark thoughts started to creep into his head.

Early in the season, the Dodgers’ third base slugger seemed to be turning the page on disappointing performances in 2022 and 2023. Through the first five weeks of the campaign, his batting average was up to .263. His .940 OPS was top-10 in the National League. His nine home runs trailed only Shohei Ohtani for the team lead.

Most important, though, Muncy finally felt healthy more than two years removed from his season-ending elbow injury in 2021. He wasn’t back to peak performance. But he was steadily climbing the mountain.

“I felt really good,” Muncy recalled.

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Then, his side started hurting.

In mid-May, Muncy went on the injured list with an oblique injury that turned into a three-month medical saga — one in which Muncy not only battled a significant strain to his side muscle, but also a displaced rib that wasn’t detected until he suffered repeated setbacks in his confounding recovery.

As he languished on the IL, enduring a series of painful flare-ups almost every time he tried to begin a hitting program, the nine-year veteran started to become wracked with doubt.

“When you’re in month three of not playing, and nothing’s getting better, you’re starting to have thoughts in your head,” he said. “Like, ‘Is this my body telling me that you just can’t do this anymore?’ That was a tough one for me.”

Finally, by August, Muncy’s body started cooperating again. Chiropractic treatment fixed his rib. Pain-reducing injections eased his oblique. And after once fearing he would miss the rest of the season, Muncy finished with a flourish, posting a .925 OPS down the stretch before playing a key role in the team’s run to the World Series — highlighted by his record-breaking streak of reaching base 12 straight times in the National League Championship Series.

Looking back at the year this week, Muncy drew two takeaways from the roller-coaster experience.

“For the time I was on the field, I was very productive,” he said, remaining confident of his capabilities as he enters his age-34 season.

Mentally, meanwhile, Muncy’s time away from the diamond gave him new perspective entering 2025 — a pivotal campaign for the former two-time All-Star, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season and the Dodgers holding a $10-million club option for 2026.

“The injury kind of gave me a new light,” he said. “It’s always been a blessing to be out there and play this game. But when you start reaching a point last year where you weren’t sure if you were going to be able to come back at all, you start really being grateful for the opportunities you have to be out there.”

“It’s just one of those things,” he added, “where you’re gonna appreciate it a little bit more.”

That mentality came in handy this offseason, when the Dodgers were linked in trade rumors to St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado — perhaps, the speculation went, as a long-term replacement for Muncy at third.

All along, the Dodgers publicly distanced themselves from such conjecture, with general manager Brandon Gomes re-affirming Muncy as the team’s starting third baseman at the winter meetings. And though Arenado, a Southern California native who has long desired an opportunity to play for the Dodgers, reportedly included them as one of five teams he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for, no momentum for a move ever materialized.

Still, Muncy heard the public discourse. He wasn’t oblivious to the online chatter. He even fielded a question about it during a December appearance on "Foul Territory", stating he was happy to fill any role on the team “as long as I get to stay around.”

At the mention of Arenado rumors this week, Muncy again brushed off the subject.

“Look, you can’t control rumors, you can’t control anything [like that],” he said. “It’s an honor and a blessing to show up every single day and put on the Dodger blue … I’m gonna lay it all out on the line until I’m told I can’t do that anymore. And at the end of the day, that’s all I can control.”

Thus, Muncy got back to work.

This spring, he arrived in Arizona several weeks early to work on his defense, continuing to improve fundamentals with his footwork, glove position and comfort level attacking grounders with just his glove hand (rather than the two-handed picks he was used to as a first and second baseman earlier in his career).

“I feel like I've made huge strides, but I have a long way to go,” he said, having posted above-average defensive metrics last year after committing the most errors among National League third basemen in 2023 with 16.

Muncy and new shortstop Mookie Betts have also worked to build a rapport on the left side of the infield, spending their first few weeks at Camelback Ranch learning one another’s tendencies on ground balls in the hole.

“He really wants to know how we’re going to interact on the left side of the field, what communication we’re going to use,” Muncy said. “Like, how do I attack ground balls? How does he attack ground balls? … Or whether we should dive or not dive knowing the other guy’s gonna be there.”

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At the plate, Muncy is feeling particularly confident. With his oblique (which also bothered him in the playoffs, requiring pain-relieving medication before most games) almost back to normal, he has focused on refining his powerful swing mechanics. Entering play Friday, he had reached base in eight of his first 11 Cactus League plate appearances, including one home run and three RBIs.

“I think Max looks great right now,” manager Dave Roberts said, noting that Muncy’s success all “starts with him physically [being] in a good place.”

For much of last season, that wasn’t the case.

But now that he’s healthy again, he has a single-minded focus.

“It’s kind of just like, ‘Oh, man,’” Muncy said with part relief, part excitement. “I gotta enjoy every second of this I have.”

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.