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MLB tweaks some rules now, more coming in '20

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 12:22 pm
by Boris13c
MLB tweaks some rules now, more coming in '20
A single trade deadline, an All-Star Game election day and a million-dollar bonus for the Home Run Derby winner will be implemented in 2019 -- and a three-batter minimum for pitchers and roster expansion will happen in 2020 -- as part of a deal between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association.

Spurred by labor relations discord amid a second consecutive free-agent market that has left players disappointed, the mid-collective-bargaining-agreement negotiations represent a step forward between two sides that had squabbled privately and publicly.

Perhaps the most important part of the deal isn't the elimination of August trades, the tweaking of All-Star Game starter selections, the incentives for stars to participate in the derby, the elimination of one-out relievers or the addition of a 26th player next year. It's the provision that the sides will begin discussing labor issues imminently, far earlier than they typically would with a CBA that doesn't expire until December 2021.

Those discussions, sources told ESPN, will center on the game's most fundamental economic tenets -- not only free agency but other macro issues with deep consequences. The bargaining over distribution of revenue could be the most difficult gap to bridge, with teams clearly paring back spending on aging players while players chafe at the notion that those 30 and older are no longer worthy of the deals they received in the past. While a compromise could be reached in distributing more money to the younger players whom the current system underpays, the complications of doing so warrant a long runway for discussions.

Re: MLB tweaks some rules now, more coming in '20

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 12:26 pm
by Boris13c
MLB announces new rules for trade deadline, All-Star voting, Home Run Derby
Single trade deadline

Gone are the days of August trades. The single trade deadline will fall on July 31, which has long been the usual non-waiver trade deadline. Also gone is all the confusion that often stemmed from the waiver trade rules.

Per the old rule, any trade after July 31 required players on the 40-man roster to clear trade waivers before they could be dealt. If a player didn’t clear waivers, his team had the option of keeping him or giving him and his remaining salary to the claiming team.

That’s a lot to keep track of. Or we should say, was a lot to keep track of.

All-Star election day

This one is cool because it provides a great opportunity for MLB to market its top stars. More importantly, it will afford MLB’s top stars an opportunity to market themselves and let fans in on their personalities.

As per usual, fans will be allowed to vote for the All-Star game starters online. The top three vote-getters will then be involved in a one-day election to determine who ultimately gets the honor. It’s a recipe for fun.

$1M Home Run Derby prize

MLB is hoping to bring more of its top talent into the annual Home Run Derby by raising the stakes. Starting in 2019, the prize for the content will be $1 million. While that’s not earth-shattering money for some players, it’s quite a bit for others, including people who could win it. Aaron Judge, for instance, will make $684,300 in 2019, so winning the derby is certainly in his best interest.

Roster expansion

We’ll see this one in 2020. Per the agreement, rosters will expand from 25 to 26 players, with a maximum of 13 pitchers allowed, from opening day until Sept. 1. From that point on, rosters can expand to 28 players and 14 pitchers. That might be the more notable change since teams could previously use up to 40 players in a given September game.

Three-batter minimum coming in 2020

We’ve heard a lot about a proposed three-batter minimum for relief pitchers, but that won’t happen in 2019. It will in 2020, though, the league says. The MLBPA didn’t agree to the rule change, via reports, but the Commissioner’s Office can implement it anyway next year. The joint announcement only says the MLBPA “will not grieve or otherwise challenge” the rule change in 2020.

Pace-of-Play

The pace-of-play tweaks are huge this year, but they’re worth noting: Between inning breaks will decrease from 2:05 to 2:00 for local games and 2:25 to 2:00 in national games. The mound-visit limit, a somewhat controversial addition last year, will be reduced from six to five after a season where the new rule didn’t prove to be much of an issue.

Hello, 15-day Injured List

This one will take some getting used to, at least verbally. The “Disabled List” is gone, as was reported a while back. In its place is the “Injured List.” And the other change there in 2020 is that it will be a 15-day injured list and not a 10-day injured list. This is effectively changing it back to the way it was up until two years ago.

Re: MLB tweaks some rules now, more coming in '20

Posted: Thu Mar 14, 2019 1:04 pm
by UOK
I like all of these changes! The one that's interesting most of all is the 3-batter minimum for relief pitchers.

Re: MLB tweaks some rules now, more coming in '20

Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2019 12:23 pm
by Boris13c
UOK wrote:I like all of these changes! The one that's interesting most of all is the 3-batter minimum for relief pitchers.

I too am all for that ... the endless games that feature a seemingly endless stream of 1 batter relievers are very annoying ... even more so when the team you are rooting for does it and the idiot comes into the game with the sole purpose of getting that 1 hitter out and walks the guy on 4 pitches