This past season in Major League Baseball saw a number of notable rule changes during 2020’s unusual pandemic-shortened season, but one major tweak was the use of the designated hitter in the National League.
Baseball fans have voiced strong opinions on both sides of the issue over the years with some old-school thinkers preferring to keep it as it’s always been with pitchers taking at-bats, while others would like to see the universal adoption of the DH across both leagues.
MLB recently advised teams to proceed into this offseason as if the DH would return to its previous AL-only setup for 2021, but many insiders suspect the league is using the rule as a potential negotiating tool with the collective-bargaining agreement set to expire after next season.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote last month that, “Players want [the universal DH], sources said, but owners want the players to agree to expanded playoffs for the 2021 season in exchange. Understandably, the players don't find that to be a particularly equitable trade.”
“It’s just kind of hanging over everyone’s head,” one anonymous NL executive told Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein. “Like, what is the deal?”
If the NL were to make the DH permanent, it would open up more potential jobs and higher salary opportunities to hitters and aging veterans with limited defensive versatility, while also helping to boost offensive output in an era where strikeouts continue to increase in record numbers year after year.
But with the CBA negotiations between the league and MLB Players Association still up in the air, the universal DH question may remain as is until both sides can find common ground.
The difficult task for teams now will be to construct their rosters with no solid confirmation from the league itself on whether the NL will go back to its no-DH status of years prior, or even how big rosters will be next year.
Many hard-hitting free agents like Kyle Schwarber, Adam Duvall and Nelson Cruz will be hoping the DH returns to both leagues in 2021 to expand their array of potential bidders, but until anything is set in stone, the annual hot stove season may continue to remain lukewarm.
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