What Are We to Make of This Unpredictable Red Sox Organization?

The Red Sox have spent the last decade zig-zagging from worst to first, with a couple of quick playoff exits and two World Series Championships, all in dizzying fashion. It makes it really difficult to figure out this team’s identity. 

No club can be expected to win their division every year, much less the World Series. But this organization veers from horrible to extraordinary far too often, spending too many seasons in the horrible category. Take a look at the schizophrenic nature of this club over the past decade:

2012: 69-93, last place

2013: 97-65, first place (won World Series 4-2)

2014: 71-91, last place

2015: 78-84, last place

2016: 93-69, first place (lost ALDS 3-0)

2017: 93-69, first place (lost ALDS 3-1)

2018: 108-54 first place (won World Series 4-1)

2019: 84-78, third place

2020: 24-36, last place

2021: 92-70, second place (lost ALCS 4-2)

2022:  last place

Chaim Bloom has now been at the helm for three seasons. His mission, he's said repeatedly, is to make the Red Sox a contender, year after year. He intends to balance both near-term and long-term concerns. That’s laudable, but it doesn’t seem to be working. The Sox have finished in last place two times in three seasons on Bloom’s watch. 

None of the players drafted durning Bloom’s term will impact the big league roster for at least a few more years, if ever. Prospects are a gamble and most never even play in the big leagues, never mind become stars or even starters. 

Bloom has so far signed just one star free agent, Trevor Story, handing out the only long-term, high-dollar contract of his tenure (six years, $140M). This isn’t the path to success in a big market, such as Boston. The region loves its sports stars. 

Most of the current money on Boston’s books was here before Bloom arrived. But the result is still troubling. The Red Sox remain in last place in the AL East, behind even the Baltimore Orioles, who have about one-fifth of Boston's payroll.

The fact that the Red Sox are poised to end this season in last place, yet over the luxury tax threshold, is inexplicable because it’s unimaginable. 

John Henry has a right to be angry.

Money needs to be spent this winter, but it needs to be spent wisely. The Red Sox need more high-character leaders in their clubhouse and dugout. When the Sox won the World Series in 2013, they did so on the backs of just such players: Shane Victorino, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes, David Ross and Ryan Dempster. All of them were relatively inexpensive, free-agent veterans. Ben Cherington spread the money around wisely, addressing many needs. 

That would be good advice for Bloom this winter. But first he needs to be willing to spend. 

Improving the Red Sox via trades hasn’t proved to be Bloom’s forte. He lost the Mookie Betts trade, the Andrew Benintendi trade, and the Hunter Renfroe trade.

The only one he got right was Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree for Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold.

To this point, Bloom doesn't look like a baseball savant.

The Rafael Devers Era in Boston Seems to Be Nearing Its End

 

Rafael Devers could soon be waving goodbye to Red Sox fans.

It’s been reported that Juan Soto turned down the Nationals’ 15-year, $440 million contract offer. To be clear, Soto turned down the biggest offer in the history of baseball, which is stunning.

Soto, who won't become a free agent until after 2024 season, has balls. He clearly believes he can get an even higher offer elsewhere. It's a big gamble; he'd better not get hurt in the next 2 1/2 seasons.

The issue obviously comes down to average annual value (AAV). Soto is a Scott Boras client; he not only wants the biggest contract in history, but also the highest AAV.

The $29.3 million per year in the Nationals' offer would rank only 15th among players, based on their 2022 salaries. That’s not good enough.

After repeatedly insisting that they wouldn’t trade Soto because they were determined to extend him, the Nats are now listening to trade offers.

This brings us to us to Rafael Devers, who has already rejected a contract extension offer made by the Red Sox in March because it was too low. Devers noted at the time that the Red Sox had never previously approached him about an extension. In retrospect, that was a mistake.

This is what Devers said after agreeing to his one-year, $11.2 million arbitration deal in March:

"It was tough, obviously, having to go back and forth about what my worth was because we have other guys they were saying, ‘This is what they are slotted at.’ But I was like, ‘That’s not me. I’m a different player and I know the type of player that I am.’ That’s really what it was."

"We all want to make a lot more money because of the performance and what we do for the team. That’s something that may be hard at first, but you know you’re worth and I know my worth. What it comes down to is I know the type of money I should be making, so that’s what I’m focused on."

"I’m not focused on what other guys are making or what they are doing. I’m more focused on what I’m doing on the field and what I’m worth. That’s why when it comes to those type of talks, where they are trying to compare different types of players, that doesn’t matter me because I know who I am and that’s what I focus on."

Simply put, Devers doesn't want to be compared to other players at his position; he sees himself as a unique talent. He views himself as one of the elite players in the game.

Devers will turn 26 this October, which means he'll reach free agency at age 27.

Clearly, he's not thinking of precedents when assessing his value. Forget Manny Machado's 10-year, $300 million deal, signed at age 26 or Nolan Arenado's 8-year, $260 million deal, signed at age 27.

Anthony Rendon’s absurd $35 million AAV, which he hasn't even come close to earning, is not even the starting point.

My sense is that Devers is looking for closer to $40 million per season, for a term of at least 10 years.

Devers is only two years older than Soto, who just turned down $440 million. Though they play different positions, their numbers are similar. Both are two-time All-Stars and World Series champions. Soto has a higher OPS (.980 vs .904) over the last four seasons, but Devers has 59 more extra-base hits in just 16 more games played.

The Red Sox would have received more favorable terms had they offered Devers a reasonable extension two years ago, buying out some of his arbitration years, but that ship has sailed.

It's getting harder and harder to imagine Devers being in a Red Sox uniform beyond next season, perhaps even beyond this season. I think the Red Sox will trade Devers this offseason; and if they believe their playoff aspirations are unrealistic this year, they could maximize his value by trading him by the Aug. 2 deadline. Don’t be surprised.

When asked this week about about reaching contract extensions with Devers and Xander Bogaerts, owner John Henry sounded ominous.

"It takes two to make a deal," he said. "I think it's clear both of them want to be here. We want them here. We made efforts in the past to try to sign players that we weren't able to sign.

"It's not 100 percent our fault when we don't end up signing a player. We've signed players where it's really worked out. We've signed others that…” Henry went on to say, without saying it directly, that other players haven’t worked out, which is true.

"The key thing I think with a long-term deal is to make it with the right players. For us at this point, both Raffy and Xander are two players we would love to have. In Xander's case, it could be till the end of his career. But players have rights and you have to respect that."

That's pretty disingenuous since the club gave Bogaerts a lowball offer of four years, $90 million, which was essentially asking him to honor the three years, $60 million on his current deal, and the Sox would throw in $30 million on a fourth and final year. Considering the $300-plus million contracts for Fernando Tatis Jr., Corey Seager, and Francisco Lindor, the Sox offer was absurd. It simply didn’t meet the current market.

We don’t know what exactly the Sox offered Devers, but it doesn’t require much imagination to figure that it was equally absurd.

Clearly, Devers wants to remain in Boston, telling MassLive on Friday, "If that (staying in Boston) can happen, that would be great. We know the type of city Boston is. If it were up to me, I’d stay here my whole career. It’s a great city to play for, great fans, great ballpark. Everything that involves the organization is great, so I hope I can finish my career here because that’s what I want.”

The Red Sox drew the line at $300 million for Mookie Betts, a more complete player than Devers. And they clearly feel burned by Chris Sale’s five-year, $145 million deal, which has a team option for 2025. The Sox extended Sale despite the lefty coming off an injury-plagued 2018 season, and his injuries have continued for the majority of the last four seasons.

Devers and Sale are different players, with different bodies, at different positions, but the Red Sox seem to have a sense of “Once bitten, twice shy.” They got burned by the Pablo Sandoval and David Price contracts as well.

Since Chaim Bloom took control of baseball operations, the Red Sox' biggest outlay has been a six-year, $140 million deal for second baseman Trevor Story. Devers is clearly looking for a contract about twice as long and more than twice as expensive. The Red Sox don’t seem willing to go there. So, it looks like we’re nearing the end of Devers' stay in Boston.

The Yankees must be salivating. Josh Donaldson’s contract comes off the books after next season, right when Devers reaches free agency.

Get ready, Red Sox fans.

Where Have MLB's Innings-Eaters Gone?

 

Steve Carlton threw 304 innings in 1980. He is the last big league pitcher to reach that mark.

There are 162 games in each MLB team's regular season and nine innings per game — assuming there are no extra innings, which is beyond unlikely. But let’s play along with this assumption anyway.

This means each club will play at least 1,458 innings per season. That’s a significant burden on pitching staffs. Well, at least it is for modern pitching staffs.  

In the late 19th Century, starting pitchers would toss as many as 600 innings in a single season. Though it sounds fantastical, it was done 13 times. And big league starters threw at least 500 innings on 72 different occasions. Moreover, through the early 20th Century, starters tossed at least 400 innings 239 different times. These guys weren’t cyborgs; they were flesh and blood humans. But they still managed one hell of a heavy load. 

This isn't ancient history either. Throwing 300 per season was fairly routine throughout the 1970s.

The Tigers’ Mickey Lolich threw 376 innings in 1971. The lefty also threw at least 300 innings for four consecutive seasons from 1971-1974. Lolich made at least 40 starts in four consecutive seasons, and he made at least 35 starts in seven of his 16 seasons. His career ended in 1979.

In 1972, Wilbur Wood threw 376.2 innings for the White Sox. He followed that up with 359.1 innings the next season. In fact, Wood, who began his career with the Red Sox, pitched at least 300 innings for four consecutive seasons, and he made at least 40 starts for five consecutive seasons in the 1970s.

Gaylord Perry threw 344 innings in 1973, and tossed at least 300 innings six times in a seven-year span. Perry made at least 40 starts in three seasons, and at least 35 starts in eleven seasons. His 22-year career didn’t end until 1983.

Nolan Ryan, whose legendary fastball topped 100 mph, threw 326 innings in 1973, followed by 332.2 innings in 1974. Ryan also threw 299 innings in 1977. Throwing hard didn’t prevent him from going deep into games and making all of his starts. In fact, Ryan made at least 35 starts in eight seasons, and he made at least 30 starts 16 times in a 27-year career that ended in 1993.

Phil Niekro threw 342 innings in 1979. Niekro exceeded 300 innings four times in a career that didn't end until 1987. Niekro made at least 40 starts in three seasons, and at least 35 starts in 11 of his 24 seasons. 

Steve Carlton threw 346.1 innings for the Phillies in 1972. Eight years later, in 1980, the lefty once again broke the 300-innings threshold (304) and remains the last big leaguer to do so. Carlton twice made at least 40 starts, and he made at least 35 starts eleven times in a 24-year career didn't end until 1988. 

Until the 1980 season, the major league innings leader would routinely toss at least 300 innings per season. Year after year, what now seems impossible was regularly achieved. 

It's worth noting that up until the late 1960s/early '70s, most MLB teams still used four-man rotations, requiring pitchers to make more starts and throw more innings each year. 

These guys threw hard, they threw often, and still they had exceptionally long careers. However, all of that changed in the intervening decades. 

In the1990s, the innings leader in each league threw at least 250 innings 15 times times over that 10-year span. 

By the 2000s, the innings leader in each leaguer threw at least 250 innings just five times. You could already see the downward trend in innings pitched.

Quite tellingly, since 2010, a big league pitcher has reached the 250-innings threshold just twice, and it last occurred in 2010 (Roy Halladay) and 2011 (Justin Verlander). It hasn’t been done since. 

To reach 300 innings, pitchers had to be able to regularly record complete games. That’s become an unrealistic expectation. The 1980s were the first time in MLB history that the number of saves outnumbered complete games. By 1995, there were nearly four saves for every complete game.

 
For the past three decades, starting pitchers have only been expected to give their clubs about 30 starts and roughly 200 innings per season, which has become the new milestone. This assumes that they remain healthy, which has become all the more unusual in recent years. 

It’s worth noting that a "quality start” is defined as lasting at least six innings, while allowing three or fewer runs. To be clear, three runs in six innings would result in a 4.50 ERA. That doesn’t really seem like “quality,” but it’s the state of the game today.  

A starter who pitches a full season in a five-man rotation will generally tally, at most, 34 games started. However, last season (2021) not a single pitcher made 34 starts. In 2019, just seven pitchers did so. 

If a starting pitcher were to make 32 starts, tossing seven innings each time, he would amass 224 innings in a season. While that used to be a standard expectation, these days it seems like fantasy. Last season, just four pitchers threw at least 200 innings. In 2019, only 15 pitchers reached that threshold. These days, starting pitchers are expected to give their teams just six innings per start, at best, which amounts to 192 innings over 32 starts.

Let's make a fantastical projection that all five starters each give their club 192 innings. That would amount to just 960 innings over the course of the season. 

But, as noted above, there are at least 1,458 innings in each season — assuming there are no extra innings games, which is an absurd projection. 

That 498-inning differential needs to be absorbed by the bullpen, and it's a pretty heavy load for a relief core. 

By rule, teams are allowed just 13 pitchers on the 26-man roster (staffs used to be comprised by just nine or 10 pitchers). This means bullpens can now carry eight relievers at any given time. Of course, the makeup of the bullpen is subject to change over the duration of the season, but let’s play along simply as a thought experiment. 

If those eight relievers have to absorb those 498 innings, that amounts to 62.25 innings apiece. Last season, 91 pitchers in the majors made at least 60 appearances. While that may seem like a lot, remember that there are 30 teams, each possessing an eight-man bullpen. That means there are a minimum of 240 relievers across the majors.  

So, just 38% of relievers made at least 60 appearances last season. In other words, each member of an eight-man bullpen cannot realistically be expected to toss 62.25 innings per season.  

The solution isn’t to expand bullpens or to shuttle more players back and forth from the minors. The solution is to get starters throwing at least 200 innings per season again. Organizations need to stop focusing on strict 100-pitch limits, which could be achieved by ending the obsession with upper-90s fastballs. The focus on extreme heat has lead to a rash of elbow injuries and resulting Tommy John surgeries, which require about 15 months of recovery time. 

The focus should be on locating pitches, throwing strikes, being crafty and getting batters to chase pitches outside the strike zone. Ultimately, pitchers need to trust the defenses behind them.

Being out of gas in the fifth or sixth inning is not acceptable. This must end. Excessive pitching substitutions aren’t just lengthening the game, they're ruining the game. 

Pitchers from the 1870s to the 1980s weren’t super human. They threw hard and they never heard of a pitch count. Except for an unusual injury, leaving a game before the eighth inning was complete was practically unheard of, and it was an embarrassment. These guys took pride in taking the ball every fourth or fifth day, routinely making 30-35 starts every year, and throwing 200-300 innings every season. 

It’s time for that sort of pride, and ability, to return. The game would be better for it. 

Red Sox Sign Trevor Story, Their Most Important Acquisition This Offseason

 

The Red Sox are in agreement with Trevor Story on a six-year, $140 million deal that has a unique opt-out clause. Story can opt out of the deal after four years, but Boston can negate the opt-out by picking up a $20 million seventh-year option, making it a seven-year, $160 million deal. Story will not receive a no-trade clause in the deal.

Whether Story opts out after four seasons or stays for all seven, the average annual value (AAV) of this pact is a very reasonable $22.86 million, which is a great deal for Boston. Avoiding a no-trade clause also benefits Boston.

Since the Rockies made a qualifying offer that Story rejected, the Red Sox will forfeit their second-highest pick and and will have their international signing bonus pool reduced by $500K.

Story will play second base, with Xander Bogaerts continuing to man shortstop, giving the Red Sox one of the best middle infields in baseball. It's worth noting that Alex Cora played 530 career games at second, which will provide Story plenty of useful coaching and insight as he seeks to make this transition during a shortened spring training.

Story’s addition gives the Red Sox lineup, which lost Hunter Renfroe's 31 homers and 96 RBI, some much needed punch. He represents a massive upgrade over Christian Arroyo at second, and he offers Boston an option when Bogaerts undoubtedly opts out of his contract at season's end.

Story has belted at least 24 homers in every season since his 2016 debut (high of 37 in 2018), with the exception of the shortened 2020 season, when he hit 11. Yet, that still put him on pace to hit about 28 homers over the course of a normal season. Story has posted an OPS of at least .900 in three of his six seasons, and slugged at least .500 in four of them.

The 2021 season, when he slashed .251/.329/.471, was considered a down year by Story's lofty standards. Yet, he still produced a 4.2 WAR, which is considered All Star caliber. The glove still matters and Story is a gifted all-around player.

Like most of the great hitters who’ve thrived at Coors Field, Story will face questions about how he’ll fare away from Denver.

Story hit .303 at home, but just .241 outside of Colorado. He also posted a .972 OPS in the Mile High City, but just a .752 OPS on the road.

However, plenty of hitters have left the advantageous environment of Coors Field and continued to succeed — Matt Holliday, DJ LeMahieu, Nolan Arenado, Corey Dickerson, Seth Smith, Dexter Fowler, and Chris Iannetta among them.

Additionally, Story is also a stolen base threat, having swiped at least 20 bases in three of the last four seasons. The only year he missed 20 swipes was 2020, when he still led the NL with 15 stolen bases. That’s amazing an amazing total for just 60 games.

For comparison, the Red Sox, as a team, had 31 stolen bases in 2020 and just 40 in 2021. Story will open up a whole new dimension for them.

The main concern might be Story's elbow, which was problematic last year due to inflammation. Some MLB insiders think that, going forward, he may be best suited for the less demanding second base. Yet, the Sox had to be okay with his medicals. Now they have a chance to see how the second base experiment works out this season.

It will be really interesting to see what the Sox do with Bogaerts now. Will they top Story’s contract to keep him in Boston or let him walk? Like Story, Bogaerts is also 29 and will surely be looking for a deal that would pay him at least $30 million annually and run for at least six years. It should be noted that Bogaerts is represented by Scott Boras.

We'd all like to see Bogaerts finish his career in Boston, but with Jeter Downs and Marcello Mayer in the pipeline, the Sox may not want to commit longterm to a player who is already showing a defensive decline.

Defensive metrics weren’t kind to Bogaerts last season, as he ranked 16th among shortstops in the Majors by defensive runs saved at minus-5, per FanGraphs. However, he made only nine errors in 523 chances, logging 1,169 innings. Consequently, Bogaerts had a fielding percentage of .983, his second best in nine years on the job.

On the other hand, fielding percentage is an antiquated way of evaluating defense and the advanced metrics have always been harsh in rating Bogaerts. Players generally aren’t charged with an error if they don’t get to the ball to begin with. The more modern metrics penalize Bogaerts for being a step slow to the ball or being out of position.

Since entering the league in 2013, Bogaerts has produced -50 defensive runs saved, by far the worst among qualified shortstops in that time frame.

Bogaerts, Boston's primary shortstop for nearly a decade, was asked this week how he'd feel about Story joining the Red Sox. He sounded quite positive.

“He’s a big bat," Bogaerts aid. "We know what he does defensively already. I think that bat would play really well at Fenway just with that short porch over there. He has a nice swing that’s kind of built for that. It would be nice if we could get an addition like that after some of the big names that we lost to free agency or traded away.”

"That’s a big boy," Bogaerts said of the 6-2, 213lb Story. "That’s a big bat right there. That’s an impact player.”

Those don’t sound like the words of a player who feels threatened or jealous. Bogaerts will probably be even more supportive now that he's assured of remaining at shortstop this season.

The addition of Story will likely light a fire under Bogaerts, who will be auditioning for a long-term pact and knows that the baseball world is watching. How will he fare defensively this season? Second baseman are less valuable than shortstops, and Bogaerts knows this.

Boston has a lot of payroll flexibility coming its way starting next season, when JD Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Jackie Bradley Jr., Christian Vazquez, Enrique Hernandez, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Matt Strahm and Kevin Plawecki all come off the books. A potential Bogaerts opt-out could result in their payroll plummeting to just $60 million, leaving a huge amount of money to fill out the team’s active roster next year.

Translation: There’s still plenty of money for Bogaerts. There's plenty of money for a number of great players in Boston next year and beyond.

Red Sox Desperately Need Outfield Help

 

Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki checks all the boxes for Boston

The Red Sox outfield mix currently consists of Enrique Hernandez, Alex Verdugo, and Jackie Bradley Jr., who no longer profiles as an everyday player. Then there’s JD Martinez and rookie Jarren Duran.

Bradley will most likely be a fourth outfielder and late-inning defensive substitute this season. The 31-year-old’s batting average and on-base percentage declined every season from 2016 through 2019. His slugging percentage also peaked in 2016 and fell from there. That long decline culminated with the worst season of his career in 2021, when Bradley slashed a woeful .163/.236/.261. At this point, Bradley is an automatic out and a black hole in any lineup, other than a high school team. But he can still defend with the best of them.  

After a brilliant run at Triple-A, Duran wilted during his call-up to the majors last summer. The 25-year-old slashed .215/.241/.336/.578, with two home runs, two triples, three doubles, 40 strikeouts and four walks in 33 games (112 plate appearances) last season.

Duran was plagued by too many strikeouts and too few walks, as evidenced by his 35.7% strikeout percentage and 3.6% walk percentage. League-wide, rookies averaged a 27.3% and 7.8%, respectively, last season.

Duran discovered a previously untapped power stroke last year in the minors, but that inevitably led to a lot of swings and misses at the big league level. He’ll need to gain much better control of the strike zone to have success in the majors. The jury is still out on that. As a result, he's likely to start this season back in the minors. 

Then there’s Martinez, who’s been used sparingly in the outfield since his 2018 arrival in Boston. 

JD Martinez, Outfield Appearances with Red Sox

2018 - 57 starts

2019 - 38 games (37 starts) 

2020 - 6 starts (60-game season)

2021 - 36 games (35 starts)

As you can see, Martinez’s outfield usage has steadily declined, notwithstanding the shortened 2020 season. 

Martinez is a capable corner outfielder, but defense has never been his calling card. The Red Sox, wary of his previous lisfranc foot injury, have wisely limited his outfield assignments, lessening his chance of re-injury and keeping his steady bat in the lineup. At this point, the 34-year-old could be considered a fifth outfielder.

Hernandez was brought to Boston with the intention of becoming the team's everyday second baseman. But his extraordinary skill in center field couldn’t be resisted, as he played Gold Glove caliber defense there. Yet, while second baseman Christian Vazquez showed flashes in 2021, he was frequently injured and appeared in just 57 games. Ultimately, Vazquez's major league experience is so limited (142 games over five seasons), that he cannot realistically be relied upon. This means the Red Sox may be compelled to shift Hernandez back to second base at some point this year. Yet, that would eliminate what is, perhaps, their best outfield option. 

That leaves Verdugo as the only reliable, everyday option in Boston’s outfield. 

When looked at comprehensively, the picture suddenly becomes quite clear. All of this points to the fact that the Red Sox are very much in need of another everyday outfielder, particularly one with enough versatility to play both corner outfield spots on any given day. 

Kyle Schwarber is a worse outfielder than Martinez; he is certainly not the answer. 

Another free agent option is Nick Castellanos, who is as bad or worse than Schwarber defensively. Then there’s World Series MVP Jose Soler, who has a .246 batting average and .331 OBP after eight seasons, making him more of a problem than a solution. The remaining free agent options become even less enticing from there. The best free-agent outfielders were quickly signed before the lockout began on Dec. 2.  

Japanese outfielder Seiya Suzuki checks all the boxes for Boston, as he surely does for many other major league clubs. Suzuki has won five Gold Gloves in Japan, while displaying excellent offensive skills. Over the past four seasons, the 27-year-old Suzuki has slashed .319/.435/.592, with 121 home runs and 115 doubles. He also exhibits great plate discipline, walking in 16.1% of his plate appearances, while striking out just 16.4% of the time.   

There will be a lot of competition for Suzuki, who may prefer to play for a West Coast team with spring training facilities in Arizona. That would obviously work against the Red Sox. They may have to make him an offer he can’t refuse. 

For what it’s worth, MLB Trade Rumors projects a five-year, $55 million contract for Suzuki. It would be nice if the suddenly low-budget Red Sox were the highest bidder for a player they really need, one who checks all the boxes on their list. 

Rule Changes That Can Improve MLB

Over the past half-century, the average length of an MLB game has risen from about 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours and 11 minutes. Meanwhile, the number of balls in play has dwindled. Hits are near historic lows and strikeouts at historic highs.

According to MLB, the time between batted balls has reached an average of nearly four minutes, up by almost a minute from two decades ago.

The game has simply become slow and boring, with too little action.

MLB's own surveys show that fans most want to see triples and steals, both of which rarely occur these days.

Three players tied for the major league with eight triples this season, and just 14 players had as many as five.

Not a single player stole 50 bases this season and just two stole at least 40; Starling Marte swiped 47 bags and Whit Merrifield stole exactly 40.

Here are some rule changes that would benefit baseball:

Universal Designated Hitter

Out of the 713 pitchers who appeared in the big leagues in 2021, just 20 had at least 50 at-bats and a mere two had at least 60 at-bats. Seventeen of them batted below .200; 13 of them batted below .150; and six of them batted below .100.

Pitchers are essentially an automatic out. Their at bats are an exercise in futility in a game that already has far too few hits. It’s time for a universal DH.

Automated Strike Zone

Strike zones are inconsistent across baseball and have become subjective, catering to the whims of the umpires behind the plate. Making the correct call is vital to the game and incorrect calls are affecting games.

Umpires would remain behind the plate to call runners safe or out, to determine if a batter was hit by a pitch, and to call check swings or misses.

Pitch Clock

Football and basketball both have play clocks to keep the action rolling. Why not baseball as well, the slowest of the team sports? Many fans don't realize that there is already a rule on the books governing this.

Rule 8.04 states:

"When the bases are unoccupied, the pitcher shall deliver the ball to the batter within 12 seconds after he receives the ball. Each time the pitcher delays the game by violating this rule, the umpire shall call “Ball.”

"The 12-second timing starts when the pitcher is in possession of the ball and the batter is in the box, alert to the pitcher. The timing stops when the pitcher releases the ball.

"The intent of this rule is to avoid unnecessary delays. The umpire shall insist that the catcher return the ball promptly to the pitcher, and that the pitcher take his position on the rubber promptly. Obvious delay by the pitcher should instantly be penalized by the umpire."

It's time to enforce it.

No More Warmup Pitches for Relievers Entering the Game

This is why there's a bullpen... for warming up.

Ban Defensive Shifts

Two infielders must be positioned on each side of second base, and all four must remain on the dirt until the ball is hit. Shifts are killing offense, making the game boring and predictable.

Make all Salaries Merit Based

If a rookie has a breakout year and is top-10 in multiple categories, he should be paid like a top-10 player; no need to wait for arbitration or free agency. On the other hand, aging, underperforming veterans should not be making tens of millions per year. Pay must be tied to performance. This might require abandoning the Luxury Tax Threshold. Yet, owners might appreciate paying for current performance, rather than past performance.

Implement a Salary Floor

The problem with MLB's revenue-sharing model is that teams aren’t required to reinvest that money directly into improving the on-field product. Perhaps a specific figure for the floor, say $100 million, is too arbitrary or difficult for some small market clubs to meet. Yet, mandating that all teams that receive revenue-sharing money must allocate a certain percentage of it directly towards players' salaries would help to improve the competitive balance in baseball.

Major League Baseball has lots of work to do to bring fans back into parks and viewers to television screens. The sport’s popularity has been steadily declining and even the World Series' ratings have regularly fallen since 2003, dropping to a new low of 5.1 in 2020. Whereas the 2003 World Series averaged 25.47 million viewers, the 2020 World Series averaged just 9.78 million. 

MLB welcomed fans back into the stands in 2021, but attendance was at a generational low. The league saw 45.3 million fans attend regular-season games in 2021, a 33.9% drop from the 68.5 million in 2019, and the lowest figure since 1984.

Changes are long overdue. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires one month from today (Dec. 1). Let’s hope the owners and players recognize how serious their predicament really is, and that they take action to make the game more attractive and entertaining for younger and older fans alike.