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Major League Baseball introduced two rule changes for the 2025 season regarding infield shifts and replay reviews, per The Athletic's Evan Drellich.
According to Drellich, both rules were put in place to avoid rare occurrences in which previous rules could have "incentivized teams to try to game the system."
The league's new shift rule will grant a batter first base while advancing any other runners one base if a fielder breaks the current shift rule and is the first to touch the ball. For example, if a shortstop crosses over second base onto the right side of the field and is the first to touch the ball, the rule would come into play.