How will the new rules affect the Miami Marlins?

MLB will be debuting new rules for the 2023 season. As we wonder if Bruce Sherman will stick to his word to spend on improvements and actually try to improve the Miami Marlins this off-season, let’s see how the new rules will affect The Fish next season. Will they help improve what was a pretty bad lineup this season? Let’s dive in…

The new MLB rules may positively affect the Miami Marlins.

What are the players and managers saying about the new rules?

Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona has a negative take:

“I do worry about the shifting thing that — you’ve heard me say it before — the unintended consequences. Like, are you rewarding guys that just pull the ball instead of trying to get back to using the whole field? … I keep hearing people say, ‘Guys are tired of hitting into the shift.’ Then hit the ball the other way. There are solutions other than just lift and separate. But that’s just my opinion. It doesn’t matter. We’re going to adjust.”

I think that he’s making hitting sound easier than it actually is. Chicago Cubs LF Ian Happ disagrees in fact:

“As a left-handed hitter, I think the shift going away is huge. Just purely aesthetically, looking out there and not having seven guys over there is nice. There’s a real skill to the game for left-handed hitters, when there’s a guy on first [to be] able to hit it in that hole. It makes it so that guy can’t just throw you changeups because there’s so many players over there. If you can get out in front of the changeup and hook it in the four hole, those are real advantages. I hit a line drive up the middle yesterday, the shortstop was on the right side of the bag and caught it. Those things going away, I think it’s going to be a more visually appealing game. You’re going to have guys like [Kyle] Schwarber and [Anthony] Rizzo that smash the ball on the right side 115 miles an hour. Those are going to be hits again.”I haven’t considered how it will affect the Miami Marlins defense, but thst could be a target area this off-season. Bigger bases will certainly help with base running and pitch clocks will speed up games. Both are positives in my opinion.A.J. Hinch has arguably the best take: “Look, we’re trying to open up offense, and I say ‘we’ as a sport. We want to open up action. We want to bring athleticism back into the game. We want to make sure that our players are being featured and algorithms are not. That’ll be good for everybody to see the acrobatic plays that are made, the plays on the run that are made, the defensive abilities of some players. Let’s see it before we critique it.”

What do YOU think about the new rules?