As Major League Baseball and the Players Association attempt to mend a wounded relationship, one byproduct has been a series of discussed rule changes. Major League Baseball assigned an independent minor league to make drastic experimental changes to its rule book for the 2019 season, including altering the distance from the pitcher’s mound to.
Changes are coming this season to Major League Baseball.
The league and the MLB Players Association recently announced that the two sides have negotiated a series of rule changes that will go into effect over the next two seasons, subject to ratification from all 30 clubs.
A pitch clock, however, will not be one of them.
MLB experimented with the pitch clock in spring training this year, but both the league and the players' union have agreed to shelve the issue until the current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires in 2021.
While there may not be anything as radical as a pitch clock going into effect this season, the game will still undergo some minor changes, most notably, addressing pace of play.
MLBPA Communications@MLBPA_NewsMLB, MLBPA ANNOUNCE ON-FIELD AGREEMENTSeries of Changes Will Go Into Effect Over Next Two Seasonshttps://t.co/Cm9ZupDlNJ https://t.co/Pyh0aE86nK
Inning Breaks
The most drastic pace-of-play change to go into effect this season will be a reduction in time between innings. Subject to discussions with broadcast partners, inning breaks will be reduced from 2:05 to 2:00 in local games and from 2:25 to 2:00 in national games. The league also reserves the right to further shorten those times by an additional five seconds in 2020.
Mound Visits
MLB instituted mound visits for the first time last season, limiting teams to just six visits per game, excluding pitching changes. This year, that will be reduced from six to five visits per game in another effort to improve pace of play.
Trade Deadline
There will now be just one deadline for teams to make trades during the season. The Aug. 31 waiver deadline is being eliminated and the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline will be the only deadline. Players may still be placed on waivers after the July 31 deadline and teams can still put in claims for players, but there will no longer be any trades allowed after that date.
All-Star Game
The way fans vote for All-Stars will be different this season. Voting will be conducted in two rounds—a 'primary round' that will be similar to the old voting style and an 'Election Day,' which will be held in either late June or early July and consist of the top three vote-getters at each position from the first round of voting.
Meanwhile, the All-Star Game itself will also undergo a change. If the game goes into extra innings, starting in the 10th inning and all subsequent innings, a runner will be placed on second base to start the inning.
Home Run Derby
To add a little more intrigue and draw more player interest in the Home Run Derby, the winner of the contest will receive $1 million as their prize. The total player prize money will also be increased from $525,000 last season to $2.5 million, which includes the $1 million grand prize.
ESPN@espnThe winner of the Home Run Derby is going to get $1 million, sources tell ESPN.Who’d you take? (via @JeffPassan) https://t.co/zjAQOptH3h
There will be further changes implemented in 2020, such as a three-batter minimum for pitchers, roster size expansion and changes to the minimum days spent on the injured list, but for now the 2019 season will see just the aforementioned marginal changes.
As part of a series of rule changes announced by Major League Baseball on Thursday morning, a new restriction on two-way players is slated to take effect in 2020.
But the rules likely will have little effect on Shohei Ohtani, Angels manager Brad Ausmus said.
“It could for a few weeks,” Ausmus said. “So it’s really not that big of a deal.”
Starting in the 2020 season, players can only be designated as two-way on the roster if they have pitched in 20 innings and hit in 20 games. Each game must feature at least three plate appearances.
Ohtani started in 82 games as designated hitter and pitched in 51 2/3 innings over 10 games last season.
But because Ohtani is recovering from Tommy John surgery, he will not pitch in 2019. Once the rule takes effect in 2020, he will not be able to start the season listed as a two-way player. Until he bats in 20 games, Ausmus said Ohtani will take a spot in the Angels’ 13-pitcher limit.
Once he hits in 20 games in 2020, his roster status will return to two-way, and the Angels will have room for another pitcher on the roster.
For two-way players such as Kaleb Cowart and Jared Walsh, it could have a longer-lasting effect. Unlike Ohtani, whether they will start as a designated hitter in 20 games is uncertain. But Ausmus said that will not influence his roster decisions.
“We are still trying take the best 26 guys out of camp,” Ausmus said.
As part of the changes that will take effect over the 2019 and 2020 seasons, players will receive bonuses for competing on the winning All-Star team. Finishing in the top-three for All-Star voting for their position, in their league, will also garner a bonus.
And a $1 million prize emerged for next season’s Home Run Derby winner. An incentive for Mike Trout to participate?
“I mean, I think everyone wants a million bucks,” Trout said. “But I don’t know if it changes my thought process of it.”
The trade deadline will remain July 31, but starting this season there will be no more trade waivers after that date, MLB announced. Ausmus said he’s still uncertain about the implications of that change.
“If you're in the hunt and someone gets injured in August and you need to acquire a player, I'm not really sure how you do that unless somebody was released or put on waivers…” Ausmus said. “I don't know what the real effect is going to be.'
Other adjustments scheduled for the 2020 season include an active roster increase from 25 to 26, and an increase in the minimum number of days a player must spend on the injured list, from 10 to 15. Under the new rules, starters and relievers will be required to face three batters, or to pitch until the end of a half inning.
Some of the new rules seem to run counter to trends in analytics, like the rise in catering to pitching matchups and fostering two-way players.
For Ausmus, solace comes in knowing that many of the rules will not take effect until 2020.
When the Angels return to Anaheim for the season, tickets printed at home will not be accepted at the gates.
The Angels announced the change Thursday. They will only accept tickets presented on a mobile device on the MLB Ballpark app, or tickets sold at the Angel Stadium Box Office.
Justin Upton (right knee tendinitis) played in a minor league game, and Ausmus said his major league spring training debut is “getting nearer.” He made his first game appearance as a designated hitter at the minor league level.
“We can control how much he runs down there,” Ausmus said. “That's why he's starting there, so we can ease him into the running part of it.'
Ausmus said Tyler Skaggs is slated to throw in a minor league game Friday, as he recovers from left forearm fatigue. He said Skaggs threw a light side Wednesday and “feels good.”
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