Rule changes have been among the hot topics in baseball this winter. Some changes are set to be put in place on Thursday, according to multiple reports.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported earlier on Wednesday that the August waiver trade deadline will be removed (leaving just the standard July 31 deadline) and that rosters will expand to 26 players starting in 2020. ESPN’s Jeff Passan added that an All-Star Game Election Day will be implemented starting this season.
Waiver trades haven’t been a major part of the White Sox rebuild, but it is a mechanism the team has used multiple times in each of the past two seasons. In 2017, the Sox shipped Tyler Clippard to the Astros for cash and sent Miguel Gonzalez to the Rangers for Ti’quan Forbes. A year later reliever Xavier Cedeno and Luis Avilan were traded in August.
The two pitchers the White Sox got for Cedeno were Bryan Connell and Johan Dominguez. Neither player has played above rookie ball yet. Felix Paulino came to the White Sox for Avilan and made a pair of starts for Double-A Birmingham last season before the end of the minor league season. In those two starts Paulino got hit hard to the tune of 13 runs (nine earned) in nine innings of work.
Losing this mechanism won’t drastically alter the White Sox plans for 2019. None of the players they received in these recent deals appear to be notable prospects currently, but it is something the team consistently used while in selling mode. It’s very possible the team could be in selling mode again this trade deadline, and not having the waiver trade deadline could alter how Rick Hahn and co. approach the July 31 deadline.
As for the roster rule changes, 2019 will be the last year of the 40-man call-ups in September. Both reports indicate that while rosters will go up to 26 through August, the limit will only increase to 28 in September. In 2019, we could still see some prospects and younger players join the White Sox in September, but after that there will be fewer of those opportunities.
Passan also noted that labor discussions have begun between MLB and the MLBPA, which he noted is far earlier than normal for a CBA that runs through 2021. One of the main topics is how service time is calculated and how teams are utilizing the current rule. That rule currently applies to the White Sox with Eloy Jimenez being sent down to Triple-A Charlotte also on Wednesday.
MLB
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