Report: MLB, MLBPA Agree to Expand Rosters, 'Shohei Ohtani Rule'
Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have agreed to several rule changes in 2022.
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the rule changes are put in place to protect the health and safety of players as they deal with a 3 1/2-week spring training. The agreement still needs to be ratified by MLB owners, but it is expected to pass when they vote next week.
Among these changes:
Expanded Rosters
Because the 99-day lockout cut the length of spring training nearly in half, clubs will be allowed to carry 28 players on the active roster through May 1. On May 2, clubs will have to shorten their roster back down to the typical 26 players.
This rule was implemented for the same purpose at the start of the truncated 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While rosters are expanded, there will be no limitations on how many pitchers a team can carry. However, once rosters go back down to 26 players, teams will be limited to a maximum of 13 pitchers.
The 'Shohei Ohtani Rule'
If a starting pitcher is used as the team's designated hitter in a game, that player can stay in the game as the DH even after he is pulled from the mound. The implementation of the universal DH in the new collective bargaining agreement helps make this rule possible.
This is a rule that seemingly benefits one team above all others: the Los Angeles Angels. While there are other two-way talents in the game, Shohei Ohtani is the only player in MLB who is truly deployed as a two-way player. His remarkable 2021 season earned him the American League's Most Valuable Player award by unanimous vote. Ohtani posted a .965 OPS and smashed 46 home runs in 537 at-bats while recording a 3.18 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 130 1/3 innings over 22 starts on the mound.
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Michael Lorenzen is another known player capable of pitching and hitting on a regular basis, but he is now teammates with Ohtani.
This rule, which is being dubbed the "Shohei Ohtani Rule," is in place for the life of the new CBA.
'Ghost Runner' Returns, Shorter Doubleheaders Retired
The controversial "ghost runner" rule will return in 2022. For those unfamiliar, this rule places an automatic baserunner (whoever made the final out in the previous inning) on second base at the start of extra innings. The rule, first implemented in 2020 and returned last season, is put in place to hasten the end of games, though it is wildly unpopular with baseball purists.
Unlike the "Shohei Ohtani Rule," the ghost runner will disappear after the 2022 season.
One rule that will not be returning is seven-inning doubleheaders. This rule was originally meant to protect player health. However, MLB is sticking with the traditional nine innings in 2022, even with there being scheduled doubleheaders in order to play a full 162-game season.
