Major League Baseball sent a memo to teams this week alerting them of the league’s plans to crack down on pitchers’ use of foreign substances to manipulate pitch movement, according to a copy of the document obtained by The Washington Post.
The memo tells teams that MLB will implement additional monitoring and enforcement procedures to prevent players from applying foreign substances to baseballs, including the use of Statcast data to conduct spin rate analysis of pitchers “suspected of using foreign substances.”
It also outlines the creation of “Gameday Compliance Monitors,” who will keep tabs on the dugout, tunnel, batting cages and bullpens, looking for violations of the foreign substance rules.
As part of those duties, monitors will also collect balls suspected of being tainted and send them to the Commissioner’s Office for testing by a third-party lab. Players will be subject to discipline not only for violations identified by umpires during games, but also for violations discovered through these processes.
“Umpire enforcement on the field … will continue in a manner consistent with recent past practice,” the memo states. “The foregoing enhanced monitoring measures, however, will provide the Commissioner’s Office with a separate evidentiary basis to support a finding that a player has violated the foreign substance rules.”
The memo also notes that team personnel “are prohibited from assisting players in the use of foreign substances and also will be subject to discipline by the Commissioner, including fines and suspensions.” In March of last year, after MLB sent a different memo alerting teams it would be taking a harder look at doctored baseballs, a longtime Angels employee was fired for supplying foreign substances to opposing pitchers, according to the Orange County Register.
Major League Baseball prohibits pitchers from altering the baseball in any way, including with saliva, sweat or less organic substances. But in big league clubhouses, that rule may as well be written with a wink at the end. Finding ways around it has become a staple of major league pitching for decades.
A true crackdown on the use of foreign substances could make things easier on hitters, many of whom believe widespread increases in pitcher velocity and movement have made their jobs particularly difficult.
But unwritten rules are often difficult to break, and longtime habits don’t go quietly. Among the most beloved tenets of baseball philosophy is the deep-rooted, decades-old belief that even written rules are made to be worked around, rather than obeyed without question. Clandestine creativity will almost certainly continue, and the league will almost certainly continue trying to keep up.
PIRATES: Pittsburgh is shutting down left-handed starter Steven Brault for at least a month to address discomfort in his throwing shoulder.
Pirates director of sports medicine Todd Tomczyk said it’s likely Brault will be out for a minimum of 10 weeks. The team had expected Brault to be a part of a totally revamped starting rotation in 2021. Brault complained of tightness in his left arm after two innings of work last Friday in an exhibition game against Baltimore. Tomczyk says at the moment the team does not believe the 28-year-old Brault requires surgery, just rest. Brault went 1-1 with a 5.43 ERA in eight innings of work this spring.
The Pirates also announced that hard-throwing right-handed reliever Blake Cederlind is out 14-16 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
BRAVES: Atlanta optioned right-hander Kyle Wright to its alternate training site on Wednesday, clearing the way for Bryse Wilson to open the season as the No. 5 starter.
Wright made two postseason starts in 2020 following a strong finish to the regular season but was unable to pitch with consistency this spring. He had a 4.50 ERA in 16 innings this spring after finishing 2020 with a 2-4 record and 5.21 ERA in eight regular-season starts.
Wright, 25, helped the Braves advance to the NL Championship Series last season. Making his postseason debut, he threw six scoreless innings in Game 3 of Atlanta’s three-game sweep of Miami in the NL Division Series. He couldn’t maintain that form, however, as he gave up seven runs while recording only two outs in his only NLCS start, a 15-3 loss to the Dodgers.
TIGERS: Detroit selected right-hander Julio Teheran for the major league roster on Wednesday, solidifying his spot on the team after the former All-Star signed a minor league deal last month.
Manager AJ Hinch also said left-hander Tarik Skubal has made the team. Hinch said left-hander Ian Krol and right-hander Erasmo Ramirez have been told they have not made the Opening Day roster — although they’ll remain with the team for the rest of camp.
The 30-year-old Teheran earned a $3 million, one-year deal that took effect when he was added to the 40-man roster. He can also earn $1 million in performance bonuses: $250,000 each for 10, 15, 20 and 25 starts. Teheran was 0-4 with a 10.05 ERA last season with the Los Angeles Angels. He was an All-Star in 2014 and 2016 for the Atlanta Braves.
PADRES: Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. was feeling better a day after coming out of a game due to left shoulder discomfort, leaving the San Diego Padres and their fans breathing easier.
“He’s feeling really good today. In fact he was lobbying to get in the lineup today, so I thought that was very encouraging,” Manager Jayce Tingler said during a videoconference from Peoria, Arizona.
“He’s going to have a good work day today and we’ll kind of see where it goes. I think everybody’s kind of expecting him to be back in the lineup in the next day or two. Very encouraging news,” he said.
YANKEES: Left-hander Justin Wilson won’t throw for several days and will receive oral anti-inflammatory medication in an effort to alleviate tightness in his pitching shoulder.
Yankees Manager Aaron Boone said it was too soon to determine whether Wilson will be ready for the team’s opener on April 1.
New York said Wilson had an MRI Tuesday that was compared to an MRI from a physical as part of the pitcher’s signing last month.
“There was nothing actionable from those images,” the Yankees said.
INDIANS: Bryan Shaw, who signed a minor league deal with the Indians this offseason, was told he will make the club’s Opening-Day roster. He will get a one-year contract paying a $1 million salary in the major leagues and $125,000 in the minors and will have the chance to earn $1.3 million in performance bonuses based on pitching appearances: $100,000 each for 35 and 40, $150,000 apiece for 45, 50 and 55, and $200,000 each for 60, 65, 70 and 75.
Shaw was a dependable reliever from 2013-17 with the Indians before signing with Colorado as a free agent.
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