Dodgers’ Slump Worsened by Clubhouse Bug, Dave Roberts Says

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been going through a slump over the past few weeks, but there’s been something else wrong with the team — players are getting sick.

Just a week ago, Max Muncy had to leave a game early against the Chicago Cubs due to feeling under the weather.

He felt chills and had a cough for two weeks, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.

Additionally, Freddie Freeman went through something similar, while Alex Freeland and Teoscar Hernandez had more minor effects.

The bug that spread around the clubhouse was underreported, other than Muncy’s illness.

With the offense going through a legitimate slump, manager Dave Roberts has acknowledged that it is impossible to ignore the effect the players’ health is having on the team.

“It is a factor. It’s the truth,” Roberts said. “Freddie’s got it a little bit. Muncy’s gone through it. Teo’s gone through it, Freeland, a lot of different guys. Yeah, it’s gone through our clubhouse.

“Absolutely. I do think, as far as how the body feels, has been affected. It was since Colorado, so there is a line of demarcation where we really went south with the offense since Colorado. But for me, it’s hard for me to just leave it at that. I do think it’s a factor, but I still feel like we’ve still gotta find a way to be productive.”

How common is a clubhouse sickness?

According to Roberts, these kinds of health issues arise regularly as a team travels and stays together for months at a time.

Baseball is a brutal sport with very few rest days during the regular season and even less downtime during the postseason, which can make a single infected person on a team essentially serve as a “super-spreader.”

“I would say it happens twice a year. … So we’re halfway done,” Roberts added. “I do think at some point in the season, alarm bells start going off about something going through the clubhouse.

“Because we are together a lot, obviously, traveling and things like that. And a lot of our guys have young kids and that’s what happens.”

The Dodgers just left a homestand and will be on the road for another week, finishing their series in St. Louis before moving to Houston.

The regular season grind is only just starting, but in terms of their offense and health, it seems to have already been giving the Dodgers a good deal of adversity.