LAS VEGAS — While views varied on how Major League Baseball’s flurry of new rules will shape team’s roster decisions this winter, from underplaying the potential uptick in production by left-handed batters to no longer overplaying infielders on the shift, a consensus among executives did emerge.
They all met in the middle.
As part of a group of rules to spur action on the field and increase the pace of games, MLB will outlaw defensive shifts for infielders, mandating that they begin the play two to the sides of second base. Milwaukee general manager Matt Arnold described how “guys with added range who can cover those holes” are going to be more valuable, and he suggested shortstop would be the position most heightened by the lack of a shift.