Report: Major League Baseball to Rename Disabled List to 'Injured List'
Major League Baseball will reportedly rename the disabled list, also known as the DL, to the "injured list," according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The change is being made out of concern that the current term, "disabled," falsely conflates disabilities with injuries that limit a player's participation and result in a temporary inability to compete.
The list is used as a method for teams to remove injured players from their rosters as they recover so they can replace them with healthy players.
The MLB and the players' association are still discussing potential changes to the usage of the list itself, including questions about time and usage in response to accusations that teams use the list to manipulate their rosters. The current DL includes a 10-day version for short-term injuries and a longer 60-day version.
Per ESPN's report, rules regarding length will remain unchanged. The 15-day DL, which was shortened to 10 in 2017, is being considered for re-implementation for pitchers. The MLB asked to re-estabilsh the longer version for all players, but the union has express a willingness to agree to those terms for pitchers while position players would remain on a 10-day version.
The league and the union are also discussing other possible rule changes including a suggestion that pitchers be required to face a minimum of three batters. The concept of a universal designated hitter across both the American and National Leagues has also been proposed.
