Elephant Rumblings: MLB 2021 season will include extra-inning runner rule, 7-inning doubleheaders

Good morning afternoon, Athletics Nation!

Spring training is just a week away, and some details of the upcoming season are now more clear. MLB released its health and safety protocols for the 2021 season on Tuesday, in an effort to keep everybody as safe as possible from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Much of the document covers things like testing and masks and bubbles and distancing, but there are also some rule changes that directly affect the game on the field. In particular, two of the temporary measures from last summer are being reinstated for this season.

One of them is the extra-inning runner rule, in which teams get a free baserunner on second to begin every inning from the 10th on. This is designed to avoid marathon stalemates, and to add even more drama to the extra frames. Fans got a taste of it last year, to mixed reviews.

The other returning new rule sets doubleheader games at seven innings each like they were last season, instead of full nine-inning regulation games. With the looming possibility of needing to play lots of doubleheaders, this makes it possible to finish a twin-bill much faster, which especially eases the single-day workloads of pitching staffs. The A’s played five doubleheaders last year due to various setbacks, accounting for one-sixth of their entire schedule.

Hot take: Personally, I’m not a fan of either rule. The extra-inning runner is too big of a fundamental change for me and feels like a gimmicky sell-out attention grab, and shorter doubleheader games too greatly impact pitching strategies by removing middle relief from the equation. However, I understand why these changes are beneficial in this moment in time, and if the league thinks it’ll help then I’m not going to argue. I just hope they don’t become permanent forever-ever.

Active roster sizes will revert to 26. For a long time they were 25, but last year they were going to be bumped up to 26 before the pandemic arrived and caused them to expand even further. Now they’ll settle back to where they were supposed to be in 2020, and the planned restriction on quantity of pitchers will be temporarily waived for the season. Taxi squads that travel on road trips can include up to five players (the fifth one must be a catcher), and if a team has an outbreak then there will be special consideration for roster transactions so that replacements don’t have to burn options or later get DFA’d.

Two other topics are notably not part of the plan for 2021. At this moment there is still not a universal designated hitter, and the postseason is still limited to the normal 10 teams rather than being expanded like it was last fall.

Oakland A’s pitchers and catchers have their first workout next Wednesday, on Feb. 17. The regular season begins with Opening Day on April 1. One more note on the topic of spring training, regarding the Giants but still relevant to the A’s and anyone who plays in the Cactus League:

A’s Coverage

• AN: Return of the Jedi: A’s sign Jed Lowrie to minor league contract
• Woo: Why A’s ‘No. 1’ option for Puk is the starting rotation
• Kleinschmidt: Ex-A’s DH Davis opens up about playing 2020 with ‘heavy heart’
• AN: Khris Davis leaves powerful mark on A’s history
• Bleav podcast: Host Ben Ross joined by guest Alex Coffey of The Athletic
• AN: A’s payroll nets out even after Andrus and Fiers moves, but now with money to spend
• AN: A’s first spring workout begins Feb. 17

MLB News & Interest

• Adler: The 2021 standings could look like this (PECOTA projections)
• Weaver: Goodbye to Elvis Andrus, whose joy defined the best era of Rangers baseball ($$$)
• Rosenthal: Inside the updated health and safety protocols for the 2021 MLB season ($$$)
• McCalvy: Braun ‘not currently interested in playing’
• Today in Baseball History

MLB Transactions

Yadi stays for an 18th season in St. Louis, with the only team he’s ever played for

Giants grab one of the top remaining relievers

Interesting deal structure to effectively defer some salary to next year

Villar was a 4 WAR infielder in 2019, has a 20-homer season and a 60-steal season on his resume, and will be age 30 this year, and he’s a switch-hitter who plays multiple positions

Keeping an eye on the reliever market

... Another reliever

Former star looking for a bounce-back at age 35

This could have been an alternate version of the Lowrie move (for DH considerations at least), after the former Athletic was excellent for the Braves in 2019 and still got on base for the Marlins in 2020

Schrock joins Doo in Cincy

... And another former A’s prospect finds a new home

Folty signing isn’t news, but Garcia now DFA’d to make room

Another minor AL West note

Hard to believe Ohtani is already eligible for arbitration, but this buys out the first two years of it

Best of Twitter

Lowrie speaks on returning for his third stint in Oakland

... and optimism regarding his health

Oakland A’steroids

It is our destiny

Another wonderful story about the late Pedro Gomez

Cool memory of Gomez, including a shoutout for Dave Stewart