2022 Rule Changes officially announced

[SteveA]

No real surprises, most of these we had already heard as happening or likely to happen.  Here are the details:

• 28 man roster from Opening Day through May 1 (no limit on # of pitchers on 28 man roster;  29th man allowed to come up for doubleheaders)
• 26 man roster starting May 2, with a maximum 13 pitchers allowed on the roster; 27th man allowed to come up for doubleheader
• New limit of 5 options to the minors per player takes effect, but options before May 2 this year do not count  towards the 5.  (After the limit is reach, a player can't be optioned without being exposed to waivers)
• Injured list will return to 15 days for pitchers & 2-way players (it was 10 last year) on May 2.   Before that it will remain 10 days.  Injured list for non pitchers is 15 as it has been.
• Extra inning runner on 2nd base rule remains in effect for 2022 (does not specify that it continues next year)
• Modification to the DH Rule (the "Ohtani Rule") -- if your pitchers starts the game batting for himself, he can remain in the game as DH even after he has been removed as pitcher.
• Last year's new Rookie Eligibility Rules will remain in place (I hadn't realized they had changed them last year).  A player is a rookie unless during previous season(s) he has accumulated 130 at bats, 50 innings pitched, or exceeded 45 days on a MLB roster excluding time on the injured list.

[Aristotelian]

Had not heard about the option limit changing. That's an interesting one as the Orioles have been a big player in that market. Would seem like there will be fewer players this year with teams having more flexibility to avoid exposing their AAAA guys to waivers? 

[SteveA]

4 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Had not heard about the option limit changing. That's an interesting one as the Orioles have been a big player in that market. Would seem like there will be fewer players this year with teams having more flexibility to avoid exposing their AAAA guys to waivers? 

No, there is less flexibility.   You used to be able to option a guy an infinite # of times in a season.   Up, down, up, down, etc.

Now the limit is 5*.  If you try to option the same guy a 6th time, he is exposed to waivers.

*except this year you don't start counting the 5 until May 2.

[Morgan423]

45 minutes ago, SteveA said:

• Extra inning runner on 2nd base rule remains in effect for 2022 (does not specify that it continues next year)

Time for another repetition of whiffle ball hijinks in extra innings this season.  My absolute favorite.  

[jabba72]

1 minute ago, Morgan423 said:

Time for another repetition of whiffle ball hijinks in extra innings this season.  My absolute favorite.  

I like the rule. Its fair for both sides and it keeps the bullpens from getting torched. 9 inning games are plenty long enough.

[Aristotelian]

2 hours ago, SteveA said:

No, there is less flexibility.   You used to be able to option a guy an infinite # of times in a season.   Up, down, up, down, etc.

Now the limit is 5*.  If you try to option the same guy a 6th time, he is exposed to waivers.

*except this year you don't start counting the 5 until May 2.

Got it. I thought it was increasing the number of options. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

[interloper]

2 hours ago, jabba72 said:

I like the rule. Its fair for both sides and it keeps the bullpens from getting torched. 9 inning games are plenty long enough.

I prefer the idea of regular 10th inning, runner on first 11th, runner on 2nd every inning beyond.

[rm5678]

1 hour ago, interloper said:

I prefer the idea of regular 10th inning, runner on first 11th, runner on 2nd every inning beyond.

I agree, that would make much more sense than starting the 10th inning with a runner on 2nd.

[Moose Milligan]

I don't like the fascist 26 man but only 13 pitcher rule.

I'll construct my roster any ****ing way I want.  If I want to have 26 pitchers on my roster, I'll do what I damn well please.  

[SteveA]

Also announced today that an ump will be mic'd and will be able to explain the results of replay reviews to the crowd and viewers, as is done in the NFL.

[DrungoHazewood]

19 hours ago, SteveA said:

• New limit of 5 options to the minors per player takes effect, but options before May 2 this year do not count  towards the 5.  (After the limit is reach, a player can't be optioned without being exposed to waivers)

I want metrics.  How many players were optioned to the minors six or eight times from May 2nd on last year, or in 2019?  My expectation is that the number is like four across the entire league.  This isn't going to be a substantial change.  It just seems big to some, because it used to be that almost no one was optioned multiple times in a year and now a bunch of guys go up and down every few months.  But I could be wrong.

Five times after May 2nd means a player can still be optioned once a month.  To me that's still a lot.  Somebody is going to say this is a radical change that shouldn't happen; my thought is it's barely anything.

[DrungoHazewood]

2 hours ago, SteveA said:

Also announced today that an ump will be mic'd and will be able to explain the results of replay reviews to the crowd and viewers, as is done in the NFL.

I'm on board with this if it'll be like every ACC/SEC football game and the ump speaks in a kind of exaggerated Alabama/Tennessee/NC accent.

Holdin', nummer twanty six on the d-fence! That's a ten yawd panalty, and that's a auto-matic first down!

[DrungoHazewood]

5 hours ago, Moose Milligan said:

I don't like the fascist 26 man but only 13 pitcher rule.

I'll construct my roster any ****ing way I want.  If I want to have 26 pitchers on my roster, I'll do what I damn well please.  

If it was up to me the number of pitchers would be eight.  But only as a stoppin' off point to 15-man rosters, where you have to pick pitchers in part on how well they hit because they're also your backup outfielders.

[SteveA]

4 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

I want metrics.  How many players were optioned to the minors six or eight times from May 2nd on last year, or in 2019?  My expectation is that the number is like four across the entire league.  This isn't going to be a substantial change.  It just seems big to some, because it used to be that almost no one was optioned multiple times in a year and now a bunch of guys go up and down every few months.  But I could be wrong.

Five times after May 2nd means a player can still be optioned once a month.  To me that's still a lot.  Somebody is going to say this is a radical change that shouldn't happen; my thought is it's barely anything.

Our backup C Nottingham was optioned over 5 times last year by the Mariners.   In fact I think at one point they were calling it the Nottingham rule.

I haven't heard anyone playing it up as a really big deal.   It could possibly very occasionally affect the Orioles because we have used the Norfolk shuttle alot over DD/Buck and Elias years, but not very often.

[Morgan423]

22 hours ago, interloper said:

I prefer the idea of regular 10th inning, runner on first 11th, runner on 2nd every inning beyond.

Or simply ties after 12 in the regular season.  It's not like they are going to be a huge impact over 162 games.