New MLB Rules for 2020 Season

The following rules will be in place staring in the upcoming 2020 MLB season.

3 Batter Minimum

All pitchers (starters and relievers) will be required to pitch to a minimum of 3 batters unless they record the last out of an inning or suffer and injury. 

26 Player Roster 

The active roster will increase from 25 to 26 players. This includes a limitation of 13 pitchers. (Games witch would have previously allowed for 26 players, for e.g., double headers, will allow for 27 players, with a 14th pitcher being allowed).  

September Rosters 

September rosters will be limited to a mandatory 28 players, from a previously optional up to 40 players. These rosters will allow for 14 pitchers. 

Two Way Players

Players who have accrued at least 20 innings pitched and 20 games started as a position player/DH with at least 3 plate appearances per start in the current or previous season (for 2020 season only previous 2 seasons will be counted) can be listed as a “two-way player” and will not count toward number of pitchers on team. 

Position Players Pitching

Position players will only be allowed to pitch in games following the 9th inning or if their team is ahead or behind 6 runs. 

Injured List and Option Period for Pitchers

Pitchers and two-way players can not be reinstated from the injured list or called back up from the minors until 15 days have elapsed, increasing from 10 days 

Challenge Time Reduction

Managers will have 20 seconds to challenge a play, down from 30. 

Here are my thoughts on these rules. 

I actually like the 3 batter minimum. This is a controversial opinion. One of the main reasons for this rule is the speed up the game and I agree with most people that this is a dumb way to do that. Cutting down ad time is a much better way to accomplish this. But I think the effect this rule will have on the game is good. It will cut down on one dimensional pitchers and will force them to adapt and be more skillful, which I think makes for a more interesting game. 

I don’t have too strong of an opinion on the 26 man roster. Overall I like it. 30 extra MLB jobs is good and gives teams a little more flexibility.  And I like that the number of pitchers is limited. Again a ton of relievers at the end of the game just gets uninteresting after a while. 

The limitation of September rosters to 28 very good. Pennant chase games should not be played with vastly different rules than the rest of the games. This keeps the games relatively consistent. 

With the increase in the number of players who can pitch and hit, having a set explanation and rule of what a two way player is and how they fit on the roster is good. 

I don’t see the point in the new position player pitching rule.  The only times they would pitch is in extra innings or if their team was up or down by a lot. It just seems unnecessary. 

So these are the new MLB rules this season.  Let me know what you all think about them!