Is the front office set to cut ties with their beloved star, who had a terrible start to the 2025 season and couldn’t produce as expected? That rumor mill started spinning fast when third baseman Alex Bregman opted out of his final two seasons of the 3-year, $120M Red Sox deal. Now, that directly connects Max Muncy’s future in the Dodgers’ blue.

LA has made a quick and defiant move of exercising their $10M club option to retain Muncy for the 2026 season, which likely stops Alex Bregman rumors before they can start.

“For the first full month of the 2025 season, it was fair to wonder if the Dodgers would stay loyal to one of their longest-tenured players and pick up his option for 2026,” Katrina Stebbins of Dodgers Way noted. With Clayton Kershaw retiring, Muncy is now their longest-tenured player, who started with the team back in 2018.

This season, Muncy had a poor .194 average by April’s end with a .610 OPS, and it hit rock bottom on May 6 with a batting line of .176/.308/.278. Then, everything started to improve step by step when Muncy started wearing glasses.

He ended the year with a .243 batting average, 19 homers, 67 RBIs, and an OPS of .846 in 100 games, even after spending several weeks on the injured list due to left knee and right oblique strain. Muncy hit “one of the most crucial overlooked homers in World Series history” in Game 7 that cut the Blue Jays’ lead 4-3 in the Dodgers’ 5-4 win and secured their second straight title.

Stebbins connected this, noting the team ignored Nolan Arenado last offseason when Arenado “made it clear he desperately wanted to be a Dodger.” The team “never matched his interest,” choosing Muncy instead. And this season?

Alex Bregman was the new big name who, “once again, suck all of the air out of the room.” But the Dodgers stopped these rumors. “Thankfully, we won’t have to listen to inane rumors,” Stebbins wrote.

Stebbins also noted $10 million as a “steal for a clubhouse staple like Muncy.”

All that said, Bregman rumors haven’t quite linked him yet with any team, but “if the Dodgers had declined Muncy’s option, it’s more likely than not that ‘Bregman to the Dodgers’ would’ve started floating around (if the Dodgers are actually willing to get over 2017 enough to sign him, which is a little doubtful).” This may not be just about the 2017 sign-stealing scandal, but also his presser after the WS win that reportedly made some pretty derogatory remarks.

All in all, LA might not be a fan of A-Breg!

But Muncy isn’t the only roster move the champs made so far

The Dodgers also exercised their $3.55 million option for Alex Vesia, who had a solid season, finishing 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA and five saves. The 29-year-old left-hander pitched well in the playoffs but missed the World Series for a personal matter.

In a more surprising move, the team cut the 2022 All-Star and designated the pitcher for assignment: Tony Gonsolin.

Gonsolin, whose last two seasons were ruined by injuries, missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery and made just seven starts in 2025. He needed another elbow surgery that ended his year. But 2022 was his career-best year, going 11-0 with a 2.02 ERA to earn his All-Star nod, and ending the season with a 16-1 record with a 2.14 ERA and 119 strikeouts.

As the front office continued to clean the roster, they outrighted Michael Grove and Justin Dean. The San Francisco Giants quickly claimed Dean off waivers.

These moves made room on the 40-man roster where the Dodgers added two top prospects, outfielder Ryan Ward and left-hander Robinson Ortiz. Ward hit 36 homers and 122 RBIs to win the PCL MVP, and Ortiz had a 5-2 record with a 2.73 ERA in 48 games between High-A and Triple-A.

Meanwhile, with the Dodgers’ door firmly closed, what’s Next for Alex Bregman?

Bregman, now a free agent for the second straight winter, is coming off an injury-shortened year where he hit .273 with 18 homers in 114 games. The Detroit Tigers and New York Mets are considered the top contenders alongside Boston to land the superstar third baseman. He could reunite with his former manager, A.J. Hinch, in Detroit. But with Pete Alonso opting out of his Mets contract, Bregman remains a logical fit in New York, too.

One thing is clear: the offseason drama is getting hot!