San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
COVID CAMPAIGN: PLENTY OF NEW RULES IN PLAY
MLB 2020 will be like nothing that has been seen before
“This season will be a sprint.”
— Anyone, literally anyone, associated with Major League Baseball over the
last three weeks
Chris Paddack thinks 40 wins will get the Padres into the postseason. His manager knows a hot start is imperative. Newcomer Emilio Pagan believes all the interdivision play could allow a team to make up ground in a
Reliever Wingenter has Tommy John surgery. hurry.
That all may be true. But so is this: No one truly knows what to expect when this Covid-19-shortened baseball season starts this week.
We can, however, begin to wrap our heads around some of the rules that will be different when the Padres start their season Friday at Petco Park against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Roster construction
The rule: Because of the three-week run-up to the season, teams will break summer camp with 30 players. That number will be reduced to 28 active players on the 15th day of the season and to 26 on the 29th day of the season and through the rest of the regular season and postseason. There also no longer will be limitations on the number of active pitchers on the roster, as was originally planned for 2020. Beyond the active roster, teams can also carry three additional taxi-squad players on all road trips, one of whom must be a catcher. The remaining players from a team’s 60-man player pool — players on the 40-man roster and other candidates to play this season — will continue to work out at an alternative training site. Injuredlist placements also will be reduced to 10 (players and pitchers) and 45 days. There is no minimum or maximum stay on the Covid-19-related injured list and players on the COVID IL will not count against teams’ active list or player pool.
What it means for the Padres: Because the team is not envisioning needing 60 players to get through this season, its initial pool included 19 of the organization’s top 30 prospects as ranked by Mlb.com and two players from the 2020 draft class (Robert Hassell III and Cole Wilcox). A good number of those prospects have little to no chance to play in the majors this season (like the two draftees plus Hudson Head, Ryan Weathers and
Joey Cantillo) but with the minor league season canceled, alternative site action is the only development time for the Padres’ top prospects. The team also left space in the 60-player pool, allowing for the possibility of adding more names throughout the season.
What they’re saying: “We had those tough conversations,” Padres General Manager A.J. Preller said. “I probably talked to about 20 (minor leaguers) that didn’t end up making our 60 group, but understand that this is not a final list. This is kind of a work in progress.”
Designated hitters
The rule: To help protect pitching during this unconventional ramp-up to a season like no other, the designated hitter will be in use in the National League for the first time ever.
What it means for the Padres: Preller traded away perhaps the best DH candidate last July when Franmil Reyes was shipped to the American League. Subsequent trades of Hunter Renfroe, Manuel Margot and now Franchy Cordero have further thinned the candidates list, but the left-handed-hitting Josh Naylor could be the favorite to start at DH because of his defensive shortcomings in the outfield. The Padres also could use the DH to rest their projected starting outfield — Tommy Pham, Trent Grisham and Wil Myers — and mix youngsters like Edward Olivares and Taylor Trammell into the rotation once they make their debuts.
What they’re saying: “I’m good with the DH role, especially with the safety of the pitchers, first and foremost,” Padres manager Jayce Tingler said. “Guys having to crank up at a threeweek notice, so I’m excited about the fact that they don’t have to worry about a possible hamstring injury going down the line or an oblique strain swinging the bat. As far as how we’re going to use that … I feel we may have some matchups. We may ride a hot bat in that spot. We may use it to give some quote-unquote everyday guys a day off from defense. I think we’re pretty openended on how we’re going to use that, but we will be looking for some production out of that spot.”
Expediting extra innings
The rule: To prevent marathon games from depleting pitching staffs, extra innings will begin with a runner on second base. That runner will be the player in batting order that precedes that inning’s leadoff hitter (if the nine-hole hitter is up, the eighth hitter is placed on second). That player can be replaced by a pinch-runner but will be ineligible to return to the game as is the rule with substitutions. As far as calculating ERAS, the extra-inning runner will also be viewed as reaching via an error that will not be charged to a specific player or the team. The rule has been in place the last two seasons in the minors, where managers played with run-prevention strategies in the field (drawn-in alignments, extra infielders, etc.) and at the plate (swing away or manufacture that run).
What it means for the Padres: 2019 first-rounder CJ Abrams — who has not played above low Single-a — is arguably the fastest runner in summer camp, but it remains to be seen if the Padres will choose to start his service time clock at any point this season. Olivares led the farm system with 35 steals last year and saw his chances of inclusion on the roster increase dramatically with Cordero’s trade.
What they’re saying: “It did provide something extra,” said Trammell, who played with the rule the last two years in the minors. “It did get guys thinking on both sides of the ball.”
Bullpen usage
The rule: The three-batter minimum rule, previously announced for the 2020 season, remains intact. It mandates that any starting or relief pitcher face a minimum of three batters or until the end of the half-inning. The exception is a pitcher sustaining injury or contending with an illness. Furthermore, a pitcher that finishes an inning will have to still satisfy the three-batter-minimum
rule if he is brought back to start the following inning. Walks count as plate appearances but pickoffs do not.
What it means for the Padres: The three-batter-minimum rule means that new left-hander Tim Hill cannot be used as a one-out specialist unless he’s brought in to relieve the original starting pitcher with two outs in an inning. With left-hander Drew Pomeranz and righthanders Pagan and Pierce Johnson arriving over the offseason to strengthen the bridge to closer Kirby Yates, versatile veteran Craig Stammen returning and Cal Quantrill and Matt Strahm providing length options, the Padres may not hesitate to go deep into a very deep bullpen — perhaps the strength of the team — at any point to get out of a dicey situation.
What they’re saying: “I do think that we have guys that match up in multiple scenarios throughout a game against any lineup, which sets us up to be successful,” Pagan said. “But once the ball leaves your hand it’s out of your control. The biggest thing for us this year is not focusing too much on the result. We can go out there as a bullpen and throw really, really well one night and blow a game. And we can go out there the next game and not execute any pitches and get the job done. I think if we build off what we’re supposed to be doing in the weight room and our catch program, I think that sets us up for the most success moving forward.”
Position players pitching
The rule: Any player during this 60-game season can appear as a pitcher, a backtrack on an earlier rule that would have required teams to designate pitchers and two-way players in order to appear on a mound (unless in extra-innings or a team had built a six-run lead).
What it means for the Padres: The newly acquired Jake Cronenworth, who can
play all four infield spots, was being developed as a twoway player and had thrown bullpens in spring training before the game was shut down. He would have had to satisfy innings requirements to qualify as a two-way player before that rule was scrapped for 2020. Cronenworth, however, has not been pitching in summer camp and likely would not be used as a reliever.
What they’re saying: “Back when I was doing pitching as well in spring training,” Cronenworth said, “it was kind of weird because you want to grow the game and diversify the game with as many different guys as you can and almost limiting those guys that have the ability to do both almost restricts why you made the two-way rule in the first place. … Hopefully they can figure it out straight and get it right.”
Unsportsmanlike conduct
The rule: With social distancing stressed throughout the ballpark — on and off the field — players and managers who leave their positions to argue with umpires, come within six feet of an umpire or opposing player or manager to argue and engage in an altercation are subject to immediate ejection, fines and suspensions.
What it means for the Padres: Keep your cool.
What they’re saying: “I feel like for the most part I’m fairly laid back,” Tingler said. “Not just this year but any year, it’s important that our players stay in the game, especially in a 60-game season. We can’t be getting tossed in the second inning of a day game with some heat just because we thought a ball was a half-ball off the plate. I think it’s important that our guys stay in the ballgame and give us a chance. We’ve got a lot of respect for the umpires and the jobs they do. I don’t expect myself to be a hothead, that’s for sure.”
jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com