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Max Muncy is staying with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Dodgers accepted Muncy’s $10 million club option for the 2026 season on Thursday, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.

Los Angeles’ decision to retain the 35-year-old doesn’t come as a complete shock, with ESPN’s Jeff Passan listing him as a player that was “likely” to have his option picked up by the team on Sept. 4.

The Dodgers previously signed Muncy to a two-year extension worth $24 million in Nov. 2023.

Muncy is coming off a 2025 season with Los Angeles in which he hit .243 in 100 games, continuing to showcase his power at the plate. He racked up 19 home runs and 67 RBI, compiling a .846 OPS.

He also recorded three homers during the Dodgers’ 2025 postseason run, which included a solo blast in Game 7 of the World Series that helped Los Angeles come back to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Dodgers appear to be confident in Muncy remaining a key piece of their lineup in 2026 despite injuries taking a toll on the veteran in recent years.

He only appeared in 73 games during his 2024 campaign, missing several months as he recovered from an oblique injury. In 2025, Muncy went through multiple stints on the injured list due to knee and oblique issues.

Now, the two-time All-Star will enter his ninth year with the Dodgers after opening his MLB career with the Athletics. Muncy has already established himself as a franchise icon, winning three World Series titles with Los Angeles and sitting at No. 7 on the team’s all-time home run list with 209 homers.

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The Atlanta Braves have exercised their club option on left-hander Chris Sale, who will make $18 million in 2026, a source confirmed to ESPN.

The 2024 National League Cy Young Award winner went 7-5 with a 2.58 ERA and 165 strikeouts in 125â…” innings for the Braves this past season. The nine-time All-Star suffered a rib cage fracture in June when he dove to field a grounder and missed 10 weeks after being placed on the 60-day injured list.

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In the six starts after his return, Sale didn’t miss a beat, posting a 2.72 ERA and striking out 52 batters in just 36â…“ innings.

His injury was one in a series of injuries for the Braves’ starting rotation last season, as all of their Opening Day starters were on the IL as Atlanta missed the playoffs for the first time since 2017.

Sale, 36, won the pitching Triple Crown in his first season in Atlanta in 2024, finishing with an NL high in wins (18) and strikeouts (225) and a league-low ERA of 2.38.

Atlanta, with new manager Walt Weiss, returns a strong core in 2026, led by former MVP Ronald Acuna Jr, first baseman Matt Olson, third baseman Austin Riley, future star catcher Drake Baldwin, and a rotation featuring Sale, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach.

After a fourth-place finish, Atlanta still could be among the favorites in the NL East

Though Atlanta is flush with starting-pitching options — young right-handers Hurston Waldrep and AJ Smith-Shawver, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, along with right-handers Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder and left-hander Joey Wentz are candidates — its bullpen is a work in progress, with closer Raisel Iglesias headed to free agency this winter.

The New York Post was first to report the Braves picking up Sale’s option.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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