Highlighting Jays who could be most affected by MLB’s new rules

DUNEDIN, Fla. — The sport of baseball is going to look a bit different this year thanks to some long-overdue rule changes that take aim at player safety and pace of play.

With a pitch clock, bigger bases, shift restrictions and a few other tweaks that will take some time for players to get used to this spring, all of the changes have the Toronto Blue Jays believing their personnel meshes well with how the game is going to be played.

The majority of players are in favour of the new rules — some veteran pitchers aren’t huge fans of the pitch clock — but the direct individual effect is going to vary from player to player and position to position.

Here’s a look at a handful of Jays who could be most impacted by the changes.
 

Bo Bichette

With bases increasing in size from 15 inches to 18 inches and pitchers focusing on the timer — 15 seconds with nobody on base, increasing to 20 seconds with runners on — you can expect to see teams forcing the issue with the running game this season, especially in the early going.

The Jays’ emphasis on adding more athleticism to the lineup this winter is going to pay off when combined with some of these changes, and Bichette says he plans to be more aggressive on the basepaths this season.

Bichette stole just 13 bases last year, down from 25 thefts in 2021, but there’s belief in Jays camp that 30 could be in the cards for the soon-to-be 25-year-old shortstop.

The same can be applied to Cavan Biggio, Daulton Varsho, Kevin Kiermaier, Whit Merrifield and George Springer – all players capable of picking their spots and stealing a base.

The bigger bases mean the distance from first to second and second to third is reduced by 4.5 inches for would-be base stealers.

Daulton Varsho

Coming off a 27-homer, 16-steal season in Arizona, Varsho checked off just about every box for the Jays when they traded one of the best prospects in the game to get him.

From his lefty bat to his Gold Glove defence to his athleticism and versatility, Varsho seems primed to put up some monster numbers inside American League East ballparks this season.

Where Varsho could see some serious gains this season is via the new restrictions on defensive shifting, as it should help some left-handed hitters find some more grass on balls hit to right field moving forward.

Varsho ran a .269 BABIP last season and if that number creeps closer to .300 with two infielders on each side of second base, it’s going to show up in an impressive slash line.

Last year, the league-wide batting average dropped to .243, the lowest since 1968, but no more shifting should help a whole lot more base hits drop in this season.

Cavan Biggio

One of the biggest benefits of all the shifting that came into the game over the last decade or so was the ability to hide range-deficient infielders with some savvy positioning.

Now, teams are going to have to figure out new ways cheat the system defensively, and there’s likely to be a renewed emphasis on second base glovework in the coming years.

With Biggio, Merrifield and Santiago Espinal all expected to see significant time at the keystone this season, defence may become the priority as the season progresses and teams start to see how the lack of shifting is truly playing out.

In addition to having two defenders on either side of second base now, infielders will also need to have their feet on the dirt as the pitch is delivered.

Managers can use replay challenges for shift violations.

Danny Jansen/Alejandro Kirk

With all of the new rules conspiring to open up running games across the league, catchers are going to be busy.

Last year, Jansen allowed 30 stolen bases and gunned down 11 runners (27 per cent), while Kirk allowed 35 steals and caught 12 attempted thefts (26 per cent).

That’s well back of Philadelphia Phillies backstop J.T. Realmuto, who’s the best in the business at nabbing runners at 44 per cent last year, but still a touch above the league average of 25 per cent caught stealing across the game.

Controlling opposing teams’ running games is going to be paramount and it’s not getting easier. 

Kevin Gausman

Each and every pitcher is going to go through some sort of adjustment period with the pitch clock, but the league has also put teams on notice that balk rules will be strictly enforced this season.

That means Gausman and his toe-tap delivery is going to be scrutinized, especially after he was called for a controversial balk in Baltimore last season that the veteran righty was not exactly happy with.

Gausman and every other pitcher will have to come to a complete stop, which isn’t really anything new for those who understand the way balk rules are written, but umpires have rarely called pitchers on it.

The league says that is going to change.

All of the adjustments for pitchers means Grapefruit League play could be more vital than ever in terms of preparation as they try to iron out all the new kinks before the games start to count on March 30.