Moving second base? Dramatic checked-swing changes? Crackdowns on batter timeouts and PitchCom chicanery?
A host of fascinating rule change experiments are coming to the minor leagues in 2026, according to a memo obtained by The Athletic after it was sent by Major League Baseball to all 30 clubs last week. Details of the memo were first reported by FanGraphs.
Many of the new 2026 rules are certain to raise eyebrows, not to mention the blood pressure of minor-league managers and executives. But unlike the pitch clock and ball-strike challenge system, which also began as minor-league experiments, there is no guarantee you will ever see any of these changes at a major-league ballpark near you.
For nearly a decade now, MLB has used the minor leagues as a test lab for all sorts of ideas — some sport-changing, some that were quickly abandoned. The 2026 changes are viewed as experimental, not inevitable. But in player development departments across baseball, officials are already scrambling to educate players and staff on what they’re about to encounter.
The minor-league changes will be spread out, and applied differently, among different leagues and levels of the minors. Here is what those various leagues will be working through:
Moving second base
Did you know that for more than 100 years, second base has been located in the wrong place? True story. Despite what you learned in Little League, second base has never been 90 feet from first or third base, basically because it flunked geometry.
Confused yet? Here’s the deal: Imagine the infield as a perfectly symmetrical diamond. If you then draw an imaginary line around the infield, first base and third base are in the perfect spot, in their respective corners of that diamond. Second base, on the other hand, is not.
Basically, it’s halfway inside and halfway outside that imaginary diamond. So that’s about to change — in the International League, at least.
(Source: Official Rules of Baseball)
Beginning in the second half of the season, the second-base bag will move to its rightful spot in the corner of the imaginary diamond. That means it will be closer to home plate, but more importantly, it will also be about 9 inches closer to both the first-base and third-base bags — and 13 1/2 inches closer than it was before rule changes increased the size of the bases.
“Original” distance — 88 feet, 1 1/2 inches
Distance with larger bases — 87 feet, 9 inches
“New” distance — 87 feet
We wrote much more extensively about all of this four years ago, the first time the sport experimented with this change in the minors. If you’re curious, you can read more about why second base wound up in the wrong place here.
What’s the goal? Three years ago, MLB introduced rule changes designed to inspire big leaguers to start stealing more bases. It worked great — for a while. But last year, the league saw a decrease in stolen-base attempts and success rate. So the hope, obviously, is that if the distance between the bases gets shorter, it will rev up the running game again. But that’s not the only experiment being trotted out with that goal in mind.
Fewer disengagements
Once again, this change is about trying to get those base stealers moving again.
In the big leagues, nothing will change. So pitchers still have two disengagements per batter. That translates to two pickoff throws, or some combination of stepping off the rubber or throwing to a base. If they do that a third time, it’s a balk, unless the runner is thrown out.
But starting with Opening Day, in the three Double-A leagues — the Eastern, Midwest and Southern Leagues — pitchers will be allowed to use only one disengagement instead of two. So it will now be a balk on the second pickoff move if they fail to throw out the runner.
What’s the goal? Again, you know what fans really like? Base stealing. So what’s the best way to get more of it into the sport? MLB is trying to figure that out. What it doesn’t know is which rule change is most likely to inspire more base stealing — a shorter pickoff limit/disengagement leash or a shorter distance between bases. So it will unleash both of those experiments at different levels of the minors — and see what it can learn.
High-tech checked-swing rules
Let’s sum up the rule on checked swings: Um, there actually is no rule, so the umpiring standard has always been, We’ll know it when we see it.
It’s finally beginning to occur to everyone, though, that that standard was easier to live with in 1926 than in 2026. That’s because, in 2026, there’s this newfangled thing known as technology. And if you’re planning to watch any minor-league baseball in Tacoma or Albuquerque this year, you’re about to become very aware of that.
For a couple of years now, baseball has experimented with using bat-tracking technology in the Low-A Florida State League to hone in on checked swings — and help determine whether a batter swung at a pitch or not. That technology is now coming to the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, starting with each team’s first full series in May.
It will have two intriguing new components:
1. Hitters, catchers and pitchers can challenge a checked-swing call — but it will count against their two ABS ball/strike challenges if the original call is upheld. The idea there is to introduce the new technology but not overload each game with more challenges.
2. And for the first time, there will be wording that lays out what a “swing” is. According to the memo, if the “maximum angle between the bat head and the bat handle exceeds 45 degrees,” that will be considered a swing. Anything less than 45 degrees is considered a no-swing.
What’s the goal? It’s the latest chapter in baseball’s never-ending quest to reduce the strikeout rate. Will it work? We’ll find out. But in the Florida State League last season, the strikeout rate dropped by more than 3 percentage points with this checked-swing technology in place. So let’s see if that translates at higher levels.
But there are two more things you should know. One is that 45 degrees is generally thought to be significantly farther than many checked swings that are currently being called “a swing” (i.e., a strike) in the big leagues. So expect some fired-up pitchers and managers when they see how this goes.
Second, this technology will only be used in the PCL. It will not be used in baseball’s other Triple-A league, the International League. However, the 45-degree standard will now be considered the dividing line between a swing and a checked swing. So International League umpires will be expected to enforce the same concepts, even though teams won’t have the technology or a challenge system to lean on if they disagree. What could possibly go wrong there?
It will get harder to beat the pitch clock
Three years after one of the most important rule changes in history, we know this: The pitch clock works. Games are shorter. The action is crisper. So why is MLB about to crack down on the legal methods players have devised to get that clock to stop when they need a breather?
It’s because games actually got two minutes longer in the big leagues last year, creeping from 2 hours, 36 minutes for the average nine-inning game to 2:38. So the league wants to try out a few anti-stalling measures just to see what works.
No batter timeouts in Low A — In Low-A leagues, batters will no longer be allowed to call timeout at any point in an at-bat, except for “special circumstances.” The league’s definition of those circumstances: brushbacks, injury concerns, “bona fide” equipment issues, etc.
Limited batter timeouts in High A — In High-A leagues, batters can call time only with a runner on base. Again, the same “special circumstances” will be the exception.
Shorter timeouts in Double A and Triple A — In those upper levels, batters can still call time. But umpires will no longer wait for the hitter to be ready before they restart the clock. Instead, they will immediately reset the pitch clock — and hitters have to be back in the box, eyes locked on the pitcher before the clock hits eight seconds remaining.
Crackdowns on PitchCom glitches — The league has (correctly) figured out that pitchers are now stopping the clock more often by routinely claiming their PitchCom devices aren’t working. In Triple A, they can still do that, but it will be counted against their “mound visit” limits. If a pitcher claims his PitchCom is on the fritz after his team is out of mound visits, it will be considered a pitch-clock violation — meaning it’s an automatic ball.
Quicker mound visits — Speaking of mound visits, the league wants to speed those up. So throughout the minor leagues, there will be a mound-visit countdown clock. And everyone except the pitcher has to leave the mound before that clock hits zero. If that doesn’t happen, it will also be considered a pitch-clock violation.
Catchers will be on the clock — Across the minor leagues, catchers can no longer stop the clock by getting out of their crouch and leaving their position to give defensive signals to the infielders. The clock now will continue to tick, and the catcher needs to be back in the catcher’s box before it hits nine. That, too, will be a pitch-clock violation if he doesn’t make it.
What’s the goal? The league apparently considers these techniques to be a mild form of chicanery. So it wants to gauge the impact of keeping these clock-stopping tricks to a minimum. It’s possible none of this will ever reach the big leagues. But it’s not impossible, either.
Starting pitchers returning to the game
If you watch much spring training baseball, you’re already familiar with this. A starting pitcher gets in trouble in the second or third inning. His pitch count for the inning ticks close to 25 or 30. So the manager has the freedom to take him out of the game for the rest of that inning, then bring him back to start the next inning.
That rule is now coming to baseball’s three development leagues: the Arizona Complex League, Florida Complex League and Dominican Summer League. It will not be in effect in any of the more advanced leagues.
What’s the goal? This is one change that has no implications for any other league. It’s purely a safety valve to keep the youngest pitching prospects in the sport from getting overloaded, fatigued and, potentially, injured when an inning reels in the wrong direction. There are no plans to expand this one beyond spring training and these short-season leagues. So don’t bet on the Pirates ever being able to try it some night with Paul Skenes.
