Rob Manfred seems bound and determined to slay the imaginary pace-of-play monster laying waste to baseball, to the extent that he may enact changes without the approval of the players union. But since such moves could cement the certainty of a work stoppage after the 2021 season, he’s been reluctant to swing his sword unilaterally. Given how dogged he’s been in his pursuit of certain changes to the rules, though, a few tweaks here and there are inevitable.
Now it’s just a matter of how many changes are approved and how quickly they are incorporated, which could be a matter of strategy.