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Angels, J.D. Davis Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Angels and infielder J.D. Davis are in agreement on a minor league contract, reports Robert Murray of FanSided. The ALIGND Sports client will be in big league camp with the Halos as a non-roster invitee this spring.

Davis, 32 in April, scuffled through his worst season since establishing himself as a big leaguer in 2024. In 46 games and 157 plate appearances between the A’s and Yankees, he hit just .218/.293/.338 — a notable drop-off for a player who from 2019-23 slashed .268/.352/.443 between the Mets and Giants. Davis actually cut his strikeout rate to 24.8% — three points lower than in 2023 and nearly nine percentage points shy of his 2022 mark — but his walk rate fell below average and his batted-ball profile eroded. From ’19-’23, Davis averaged 91.2 mph off the bat and hit 47.1% of his batted balls at least 95 mph; in 2024, he averaged 89.1 mph off the bat and had a 43.7% hard-hit rate.

Davis has played both infield corners and left field in his career, though the majority of his time has come at the hot corner. He hasn’t graded well there or in left field but has more passable defensive marks in 465 innings at first base. With the Angels, he’ll compete for a bench job and provide some depth behind oft-injured third baseman Anthony Rendon and young first baseman Nolan Schanuel.

The Halos’ bench is mostly full right now, with backup catcher Travis d’Arnaud, utilityman Kevin Newman and fourth outfielder Mickey Moniak all seemingly locked into spots. Infielder/outfielder Scott Kingery and non-roster invitee Tim Anderson could vie for that final spot alongside Davis and others. Kingery is on the 40-man roster but has minor league options remaining. None of d’Arnaud, Newman or Moniak can be optioned.

An exact timeline on shortstop Zach Neto, who underwent shoulder surgery following the season, isn’t yet known. However, there’s a chance he could start the season on the injured list. That’d give Davis and other non-roster players in camp a better chance at winning a spot. If Neto indeed opens the year on the injured list, one of Newman or Anderson would presumably get the nod at shortstop to begin the season.

The Opener: Bregman, Alonso, Rockies

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As the start of Spring Training creeps ever closer, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on headed into the weekend:

1. Bregman’s market heating up?

After Houston acquired Christian Walker and Isaac Paredes to handle the infield corners earlier this winter, it seemed difficult to imagine Alex Bregman returning to the only club he’s known to this point in his career. That door may not be closed, however. The Astros have not only not ruled out a reunion with third baseman but have actually kept their previous six-year, $156MM offer on the table as the offseason has progressed. Adding Bregman back to the mix would create a bit of a logjam in the infield, but it’s possible that could be addressed by moving either Paredes or even Jose Altuve to the outfield.

Renewed rumors of a reunion between Bregman and the Astros could increase the pressure on other teams interested in the infielder to make a move. The Tigers, Red Sox, and Blue Jays have all shown real interest in Bregman’s services at various points in the offseason, though in recent weeks Boston has been connected as much to Nolan Arenado as to Bregman, Toronto signed Anthony Santander to ease their need for a big bat, and Detroit’s negotiations with the third baseman have seemingly begun to stall out. Will all of that be enough to keep Bregman in Houston?

2. Movement on Alonso’s market?

Conflicting reports emerged yesterday regarding the status of contract talks between the Blue Jays and first baseman Pete Alonso. SNY’s Andy Martino and Newsday’s Tim Healey both indicated that talks have begun to advance, while Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet suggested there hadn’t been noteworthy movement. Toronto’s interest in Alonso isn’t new, as there were reports connecting the two sides earlier this month alongside other clubs like the Red Sox, Giants, and Angels. The Jays and other alternative suitors for Alonso began to get more attention last week when Alonso declined a three-year offer from the Mets, prompting them to begin to pivot to other additions as they braced for Alonso to sign elsewhere.

Adding Alonso to the lineup alongside Santander and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would improve Toronto’s offense in a hurry, although even with the DH available it’s easy to imagine the Jays’ defense suffering if Guerrero moves over to third on days where Santander or another player is DHing and Alonso plays first base. Notably, it seems likely that the Blue Jays would only be able to fit one of Alonso or Bregman into their lineup. With some signs from both markets that things could be heating up, will Toronto be able to add another significant bat?

3. Rockies Fest this weekend:

The Rockies are hosting their annual Rockies Fest fan event tomorrow at Coors Field. A number of the organization’s top players are expected to be present for the event including Ezequiel Tovar, Brenton Doyle, and Ryan McMahon as well as top prospects Chase Dollander and Zac Veen. Recently retired outfielder Charlie Blackmon is also set to be in attendance. Those players will be available for autographs and Q&A sessions, with other attractions including access to clubhouses and broadcast booths. A Q&A session regarding the team’s outlook is also on the schedule, though top club personnel such as manager Bud Black and GM Bill Schmidt have not been specifically announced as appearing at tomorrow’s event. For more information (including ticket pricing), you can visit the event website here.

Braves Sign Jurickson Profar

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The Braves announced that they have signed free agent outfielder Jurickson Profar to a three-year, $42MM deal. The MVP Sports Group client will make $12MM this year and then $15MM in each of the next two seasons. Atlanta designated right-hander Connor Gillispie in a corresponding move.

Profar, 32, has been wildly inconsistent in his career but is coming off his best season. Once a top prospect with the Rangers, he made it to the majors as a 19-year-old but struggled in his first few seasons. He eventually showed some promise but frustratingly alternated between good and bad seasons.

He had one of those down seasons in 2023, which is why the Padres were able to sign him last offseason for just $1MM, barely above the league minimum. The Padres probably couldn’t have dreamed about the return on investment they would eventually get from that.

Profar got into 158 games and stepped to the plate 668 times. His 15.1% strikeout rate and 11.4% walk rate were both strong numbers but fairly normal for him. He managed to do more damage when he connected, without sacrificing any of his trademark plate discipline. His 24 home runs were a career high. The three numbers in his .280/.380/.459 slash line were all personal bests as well, apart from a .471 slugging percentage in his nine-game debut back in 2012. His 139 wRC+ easily eclipsed his previous personal high of 113 and was also put him in the top 15 among qualified hitters last year. The switch-hitter did that damage from both sides of the plate, with a 137 wRC+ as a lefty and 147 as a righty.

Given his capricious production over the years, it would be fair to be a bit skeptical that he could keep that kind of performance going. However, there are some encouraging numbers under the hood. Profar’s 44.8% hard hit hate rate, 91.1 mile-per-hour average exit velocity and 7.2% barrel rate were all significantly better than anything he had done before. His .302 batting average on balls in play was a career high but just a bit above the .291 league average.

Though Profar has played all over the diamond in his career, he’s mostly a left fielder now. He’s barely played the other outfield slots in his career. He hasn’t really been an infield regular since 2019. He logged just 18 innings at first base last year, the only place he played apart from left field during the campaign.

Profar’s work in left hasn’t been especially well regarded. Last year, he was given a grade of -8 from Defensive Runs Saved and -6 from Outs Above Average. Despite that, thanks to his huge offense and ten stolen bases, FanGraphs considered him to be worth 4.3 wins above replacement on the season.

That production was huge for the Padres, given that they had notable financial restraints, which is why they took that $1MM flier on Profar. They surely would have welcomed him back, given the longstanding ties between Profar and president of baseball operations A.J. Preller. However, their financial situation is perhaps even more grim now than it was a year ago. They reportedly need to make significant cuts to the budget while also looking for solutions on the roster. In addition to Profar’s absence in left, they have question marks behind the plate, in the rotation and at shortstop.

Profar has also expressed a fondness for San Diego and probably wanted to go back, but he also probably recognized that this is probably his best chance at a free agent payday. He had previously signed a three-year, $21MM deal with the Padres going into 2021 but opted out of that pact after two years. He settled for modest one-year deals in the past two offseasons but has now secured himself a strong three-year deal. MLBTR predicted a three-year, $45MM deal for him at the start of the offseason.

For Atlanta, outfield has stood out as a clear area for improvement this winter. Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last year and missed the second half of the season. He’ll be back in right field at some point in 2025 but probably not on Opening Day. Players like Ramón Laureano and Jorge Soler were used to cover for Acuña’s absence but jettisoned after the season. Soler was flipped to the Angels while Laureano was non-tendered. The club’s acquisition of Jarred Kelenic last offseason also didn’t go especially well. He struck out 29.6% of the time and hit .231/.286/.393 for a wRC+ of 86.

Time will tell how the club plans to play it once everyone is healthy. Michael Harris II will be in center but Atlanta has its designated hitter spot committed to Marcell Ozuna. Profar and Kelenic can flank Harris for now but Acuña will eventually be back. The lefty-swinging Kelenic has better numbers against righties but the club presumably isn’t giving the Profar $42MM to be a short-side platoon guy.

Perhaps Kelenic will eventually get pushed into a fourth outfielder role once Acuña is back, though he may have a bit of time to prove himself worthy of more. Ozuna is an impending free agent, so perhaps the foursome of Harris, Acuña, Profar and Kelenic can better co-exist in 2026 and beyond. Kelenic does have an option remaining, so some time in the minors is possible as well.

With Profar now in the fold, RosterResource calculates Atlanta’s payroll at $212MM and their competitive balance tax number at $230MM. The latter is $11MM shy of this year’s base threshold. They opened last year at $223MM, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts.

President of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has previously said that he expects payroll to rise and that the club is willing to pay the tax again this year. However, most of his moves have been focused on adding financial breathing room. As mentioned, Soler was flipped in a salary dump and Laureano was cut. Travis d’Arnaud had his club option turned down. The club restructured the contracts of Aaron Bummer and Reynaldo López to kick some money down the road.

If there is still some powder dry, then perhaps Atlanta will pivot to adding some pitching in the coming weeks. They were connected to Nathan Eovaldi earlier in the winter and reportedly had an agreement in place with Jeff Hoffman, with Hoffman to be stretched out as a starter, before they grew concerned by something they saw in his shoulder during his physical. They were also connected to reliever Tanner Scott earlier in the winter. All those guys have signed elsewhere but the interest indicates Atlanta is looking to add to the staff.

For clubs still looking for outfield help, the market is essentially out of everyday players now. Juan Soto, Teoscar Hernández, Anthony Santander, Tyler O’Neill and Profar are now all off the board. The best remaining outfielders are role players like Harrison Bader, Randal Grichuk and Alex Verdugo. Clubs like the Royals, Astros and Blue Jays have been connected to Profar this winter, though the Jays signed Santander earlier this week.

Gillispie, 27, just signed a non-guaranteed contract with Atlanta in November. He made his major league debut with Cleveland last year but only logged eight innings and was non-tendered at season’s end. In his minor league career, he has thrown 426 1/3 innings with a 4.01 earned run average, 24.3% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. Atlanta will have one week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next for him. Since the waiver process takes 48 hours, any potential trade talks would have to come together in the next five days.

Robert Murray of FanSided was first with the agreement between Atlanta and Profar.

Diamondbacks Sign Josh Winder To Minor League Contract

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The D-Backs signed righty Josh Winder to a minor league deal with an invitation to MLB Spring Training. The deal was announced by the team’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno.

Winder moves to the second organization of his career. He was a seventh-round pick by the Twins back in 2018. The 6’5″ hurler pitched very well up through Double-A. He was selected to the Futures Game in 2021 and ranked as the #6 prospect in a solid Minnesota farm system on Baseball America’s organizational report the following winter. At the time, some prospect evaluators felt he had a mid-rotation ceiling.

That hasn’t materialized at the major league level. Winder started 11 of 15 games as a rookie in 2022. He posted a 4.70 ERA across 67 innings. Minnesota moved him to the bullpen the next year. Winder tossed 34 2/3 MLB innings across 19 relief appearances. He pitched 18 times in Triple-A. Winder struggled at both stops and fell further down the depth chart going into 2024. He only made four MLB appearances last season, allowing four runs (three earned) over nine innings. He surrendered a 6.15 earned run average across 41 Triple-A frames.

Winder has battled shoulder issues dating back to the second half of the 2021 campaign. He spent time on the minor league injured list with shoulder injuries every year between 2021-23. A stress fracture in his shoulder blade cost him the first two months of last season. That has perhaps contributed to Winder’s underwhelming 5.49 ERA through parts of four Triple-A seasos. He owns a 4.39 mark across 110 2/3 major league innings, though his 18% strikeout rate is well below average.

Arizona could keep the 28-year-old in relief or give him another rotation opportunity if they feel his shoulder will hold up. Winder has shown strong command and mixes five pitches. His four-seam fastball sat around 94 MPH during his rotation work a few seasons back. It ticked up to 95 MPH on average in his limited big league action last season.

JB Bukauskas Accepts Outright Assignment With Brewers

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The Brewers have passed right-hander JB Bukauskas through waivers and outrighted him to Triple-A, per Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The righty was designated for assignment last week. He had the right to elect free agency but has decided to accept, per Hogg, and will be in camp with the Brewers as a non-roster invitee.

Bukauskas, 28, has been with the Brewers for almost two years now. He was claimed off waivers from the Mariners in April of 2023. Despite that fairly lengthy span of time on the roster, he hasn’t pitched much for the big league team, spending much of it on optional assignment or on the injured list.

Lack of health was the story last year, as a right lat strain kept him on the IL for most of 2024. He was only able to toss six innings in the majors and another six in the minors. When combined with his previous seasons, including time with the Diamondbacks and Mariners, his big league track record is still small. He has 30 1/3 innings in total, having allowed 5.04 earned runs per nine.

Despite that limited résumé, Bukauskas is appealing in other ways. He’s a former first-round pick and was once a top 100 prospect. He’s also shown flashes of his potential in the minors. In his 83 2/3 innings on the farm over the past four years, he has a 3.23 ERA, 26.1% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. He still has one more option year remaining.

But that’s apparently not enough to get him a roster spot at the moment, on the heels of his injury-marred season. That suggests he would likely be limited to minor league deals if he were to head out to the open market. He had the right to do so because he was previously outrighted in his career, but decided to stay with the Brewers and accept an invite to camp. He should be looking to show his health and effectiveness in camp as he tries to push for an opportunity to prove himself in 2025.

Anthony Santander’s Contract With Blue Jays Includes Nearly $62MM In Deferrals

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The Blue Jays finalized their five-year free agent deal with Anthony Santander this week. The deal came with a $92.5MM guarantee but was known to include heavy deferrals. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith first reported on Monday that MLB calculated the contract’s net present closer to $70MM.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet reported more specifics on the contract structure this afternoon. The NPV landed just under $68.6MM, which comes with an approximate $13.7MM annual competitive balance tax hit. The deal includes $61.75MM in deferred money. The specific layout is as follows:

  • $13.5MM signing bonus ($6.75MM deferred)
  • $13.5MM salary in 2025 ($10MM deferred)
  • $16.5MM salary in 2026 ($10MM deferred)
  • $16.5MM salary in 2027 ($10MM deferred)
  • $14.75MM salary in 2028 ($10MM deferred)
  • $12.75MM salary in 2029 ($10MM deferred)
  • $15MM club option for 2030; guaranteed a $5MM buyout, which would be completely deferred

Santander has an opt-out after the ’27 season. He’s owed $60MM over the first three years, so he’d be weighing whether to leave two years and $32.5MM ($25MM of which would be deferred) on the table. If he opts out, Toronto can override that by guaranteeing his 2030 salary at $17.5MM. That would also escalate Santander’s salaries for the 2028 and ’29 seasons to $17.25MM and $15.25MM, respectively. The maximum value is $110MM over six years — which would only be reached if Santander opts out and the Jays override it.

At the start of the offseason, the slugger was reportedly seeking five years and a nine-figure guarantee. He got the five years but came up well shy of $100MM from an NPV perspective. MLBTR predicted Santander for four years and $80MM at the beginning of the offseason. He beat that on raw money but did not get there in terms of net present value.

The Jays are into luxury tax territory. They’re taxed at a 20% rate on spending between $241MM and $261MM. They’re close to the $261MM cutoff. Adding Santander likely comes with around a $3MM tax hit for the upcoming season. Toronto would be taxed at a 32% clip for spending between $261MM and $281MM.

Tigers Pursuing Relievers With Closing Experience

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The Tigers are interested in adding a late-inning reliever who has experience as a closer, writes Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press. Petzold identifies top unsigned reliever Carlos Estévez as one of a number of bullpen targets in whom the Tigers have shown interest.

Spending on relief pitching has picked up this month. Estévez’s own market has accelerated. Petzold writes that the Tigers are among six teams still in the mix for the hard-throwing righty. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported yesterday that the Reds remain in contact with Estévez’s camp. He was also linked to the Cubs — who are themselves evaluating a number of late-game options — last week. The Diamondbacks and Braves are among other teams known to be seeking relief help, though neither has been linked to Estévez specifically.

The 32-year-old has been a reliable back-end option for the Angels and Phillies over the last two years. He turned in a 3.90 ERA with 31 saves and a plus 27.8% strikeout rate for the Halos in 2023. He was off to an even stronger start last year, working to a 2.38 ERA while fanning 25.8% of batters faced through the trade deadline.

Los Angeles dealt Estévez to the Phillies for a pair of well-regarded pitching prospects. His finish in Philadelphia was more solid than great. While he turned in a 2.57 ERA across 21 frames for the Phils, Estévez’s strikeout percentage dropped to a mediocre 20.5% clip. Despite the middling finish, Estévez still has a solid case for a three-year deal in the $30MM range.

Kenley Jansen, David Robertson, Craig Kimbrel and Kyle Finnegan are other free agent relievers with varying degrees of closing experience. (Kirby Yates is also technically unsigned but seems to be headed to the Dodgers.) Jansen and Robertson could command eight-figure guarantees. Finnegan is likely to sign for somewhere below the $8.6MM which he was projected to make in arbitration before he was non-tendered by the Nationals. He should command more than $5MM, though. Kimbrel would be a rebound flier after posting a 5.33 ERA for the Orioles last year.

Petzold writes that the Tigers’ action in the relief market has been held up by Alex Bregman’s extended free agency. Detroit has been one of the top four suitors for the star third baseman. Petzold reported earlier this week that talks were at a “standstill,” though, and the Astros have seemingly made a renewed push to bring him back. That doesn’t mean a move to Detroit is off the table, but it leaves the Tigers in something of a holding pattern.

According to Petzold, the Tigers are unlikely to land Bregman and a top reliever. He suggests they’d be more motivated to spend on a closer if Bregman signs elsewhere, which would lead them to look at a much lower tier of free agent hitter. A few teams have moved to prioritizing the bullpen with the hitting market have slowed down. The Tigers may eventually need to do the same or risk their top relief targets signing while they await Bregman’s decision.

Blue Jays Have Also Shown Interest In Ryan Pressly

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If the Astros trade Ryan Pressly, the Cubs appear the likeliest landing spot. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported this evening that Chicago was nearing a deal for the veteran reliever. Multiple reports from the Houston beat indicated that Pressly has not agreed to waive his no-trade rights, however. It’s also not clear if the Cubs and Astros had agreed to a final trade package and were awaiting Pressly’s decision, or if the teams merely felt they were making progress in those conversations.

Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that while the Cubs are serious suitors for the two-time All-Star, no deal is believed to be imminent. According to The Athletic, the Blue Jays and at least one mystery team from the West Coast have also expressed interest. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com similarly wrote this evening that the Astros have fielded interest from multiple clubs on Pressly.

In any case, the 36-year-old righty controls his destination. Pressly has full no-trade protection as a player with at least 10 years of MLB service and five-plus service years with his current team. He grew up in the Dallas area and has pitched in Houston since the 2018 trade deadline. His wife Katharine is a Houston native. It’s not out of the question that he and his family simply prefer to stay there.

Whether Pressly would waive his no-trade clause to join the Cubs, Blue Jays or anyone else remains to be seen. There is no definitive reporting that he is unwilling to move. All that is clear is that he has not approved a trade to this point.

This could be a key decision for Houston’s overall offseason. The Astros have an offer out to Alex Bregman. In recent days, they’ve resumed talks with their longtime third baseman. Bregman is still pursuing a long-term contract; Houston’s initial offer was reportedly for $156MM over six years. The Astros project around $3MM north of the base luxury tax threshold. Offloading a few million dollars could allow them to duck below the CBT line for the moment. Signing Bregman would undoubtedly push them back into tax territory, though that’s perhaps an easier sell for ownership than it would be to pay the CBT even if he walks.

Pressly combined for 110 appearances between 2023-24, which triggered a $14MM vesting option on his deal. That’s probably a little above market value but not dramatically so. José Leclerc and Andrew Kittredge each signed $10MM free agent contracts this winter. Blake Treinen, who is six months older than Pressly, landed two years at $11MM annually.

After serving as Houston’s closer between 2020-23, Pressly moved into a setup role last year. That was in response to their late strike to add Josh Hader on a five-year free agent deal. He had a solid season, working to a 3.49 earned run average through 56 2/3 frames. Pressly’s strikeout rate dropped to a league average 23.8% clip — his lowest mark since his 2018 breakout —  but he posted a solid 7.4% walk rate while picking up 25 holds.

The Cubs and Jays could each offer Pressly their closer role. Chicago has a few less experienced pitchers (e.g. Porter Hodge, Nate Pearson, Tyson Miller) who could compete for saves. Toronto has already added Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García and Nick Sandlin this offseason. That trio joins Chad Green and Erik Swanson in the high-leverage mix. Hoffman is probably the favorite for the ninth inning, but he has been a setup man for most of his career. He recorded 10 of his 12 career saves for the Phillies last season. Pressly saved at least 26 games in each of his three full seasons as Houston’s closer.

Latest On Kyle Hart

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Thirty-two-year-old lefty Kyle Hart isn’t a household name but nonetheless stands as an interesting free agent for clubs seeking rotation depth this winter. The southpaw has pitched in just one big league season, yielding 19 runs in 11 innings for the Red Sox during the shortened 2020 season. Hart, however, has a decent Triple-A track record and just tore through the Korea Baseball Organization in 2024, logging 157 innings with a 2.69 ERA, 28.8% strikeout rate and 6% walk rate. He was awarded the Choi Dong-won Award — the KBO equivalent of MLB’s Cy Young Award — for those efforts.

MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports today that Hart has some level of interest from six big league clubs, one of whom has been trying to free up some payroll space before adding Hart or another free agent. At the very least, that’s indicative of a team (or teams) being willing to put forth a big league offer to sign the lefty. Though there hasn’t been much reporting on Hart’s ongoing free agency this winter, he was linked to the Orioles, Astros, Twins, Brewers and Yankees in late December. More than half the league is reported to have at least checked in, though that obviously doesn’t indicate serious interest from all those parties.

Hart’s breakout overseas is reminiscent of recent KBO success stories like Erick Fedde, Chris Flexen and Merrill Kelly, among others. That said, he’ll pitch all of next season at 32. That’s a notable difference from recent KBO-to-MLB arms. Fedde returned ahead of his age-31 season and had the benefit of being a former first-round pick and top prospect. Kelly was 30 when he signed a modest two-year deal with Arizona on the back of a terrific four-year run in South Korea. Flexen’s lone season in the KBO was his age-25 campaign. He returned on a two-year deal with the Mariners at just 26 years old. Of the bunch, Fedde’s $15MM guarantee over two years is the largest contract.

Hart is older than the rest of that group and lacks the prospect pedigree Fedde had. Like many of those pitchers, however, he’s benefited from demonstrable changes to his pitching repertoire since heading to the KBO. He added a new sweeper this season, began throwing his four-seamer up in the zone/above the zone to get some chases, and has used his changeup more heavily. His heater isn’t the type of power offering that modern teams covet, sitting low-90s and peaking around 94 mph, but it’s generally easier for a lefty to get by with lesser velocity than a righty.

Whether that’s enough to sell a major league front office on his viability as a big league rotation cog remains to be seen. Fedde, the most successful of the group in the KBO, won the Choi Dong-won and was named KBO MVP after posting a flat 2.00 ERA with better strikeout and walk rates (29.5% and 4.9%, respectively) than Hart turned in this past season.

If not a return to Major League Baseball, Hart will still have ample opportunity to earn money in Asia. He’s drawn interest from both KBO clubs and teams in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, per Dierkes.

MLB Passes Two Small Rule Changes

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Major League Baseball’s competition committee has unanimously passed two minor on-field rule changes for the 2025 season, reports Evan Drellich of The Athletic. The first involves defensive positioning, while the other relates to an infrequent baserunning scenario.

Regarding the defense, the rule change now allows a hitting team to accept an awarded base if a defensive player violates the shift ban and is the first player to field a batted ball. Teams are required to keep two infielders on either side of the second base bag. Previously, if a fielder violated the shift ban — likely a middle infielder starting on the opposite side of the base — the hitting team could either take an automatic ball or accept the result of the play. They’ll now be able to take the free base or the play result. If they accept the free base, any runners would move up one base. The fielder will be charged with an error, while the hitter will not be credited with an at-bat.

The change is designed to increase the penalty for teams violating the shift ban. The league felt that teams could push fielders slightly beyond the bag in hopes of getting away with a violation. The rationale would be that if the violation went unnoticed by umpires and opposing teams, the shift could result in an out. If the violation were detected, the automatic ball was unlikely to be that costly. Drellich notes that there were two shift violations that resulted in an automatic ball last season. Those would be errors under the new rule.

The baserunning rule only comes into play in very specific circumstances. If a player deliberately overruns the second or third base bag to beat out a force play, a longstanding rule is that the runner is to be called out for abandonment. Players are only really incentivized to do this if they’re the trail runner when there was a runner on third base with two outs. If they feel they’d be forced out if they slow down or slide, they may instead run through the bag. While they’d likely be tagged out a second or two later, negating the force play would allow the runner who’d been on third base to score.

Now, the replay official can determine whether the runner from third base touched home plate before the trail runner officially abandoned the bag. That’s defined as having both feet on the ground beyond the base. If the lead runner had not scored by then, the run will not count. The rule also includes an adjustment to replay review. Previously, if the umpire had incorrectly called the trail runner out on the initial force play, a successful challenge by the hitting team would call the runner safe even if the runner had gone through the bag. In that scenario, the replay official can now call the runner out by abandonment.

MLB’s competition committee is composed of six owners, four player representatives, and one umpire. The owner majority essentially gives the league unilateral power to make on-field rule adjustments. That has been to the players’ consternation in the past, though these changes are so marginal that they didn’t encounter opposition.

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