In view of the 2023 season, everything indicates that Rob Manfred will have the right to impose the end of the special defense. This is his goal and if the right is given to him in the next collective agreement, he will undoubtedly do so.
We know that left-handers will come out winners among hitters. But for the Blue Jays, who have few lefties, how will that help?
A data-driven analysis on how MLB banning the defensive shift could impact the #BlueJays roster.
Spoiler: Randal Grichuk is affected.https://t.co/8ea1etwRKg
— Ethan Diamandas (@EthanDiamandas) March 8, 2022
I’m not here to say this is going to hurt the Blue Jays, quite the contrary, but a few players are hitting well against the shift.
When you take the guys’ average on balls in play (so excluding three strikeouts, for example) against the special defense, there have been some pretty impressive numbers in 2021.
- Bo Bichette: .390
- Teoscar Hernández: .344
- Lourdes Gurriel Jr.: .341
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: .305
Young stars who hit from the right are among those who manage to get to the bases, even if they are not always caught in the shift.
“Luckily” for them, in 2022, there will still be special defenses.
But if we take a guy like Cavan Biggio, who saw the special defense two out of three last year, it could help him. He hit for .295 in such a situation, which really isn’t bad.
That said, he will be able to shoot the ball more often without the special defense.
It’s kind of the same story for Randal Grichuk, who hit .259 on balls in play against the shift. The outfielder saw the special defense used 48% of the time against him in 2021.
Both players will have to “survive” a normal 2022 season for that purpose, but could be among many MLB players to take advantage of the potential end of the special defense in 2023.
