-1745819772711.png){kind=logo}
The Trea Turner Rule is finally getting amended. Not eliminated altogether, but amended in a way that should at least somewhat appease the star shortstop and Nationals manager Davey Martinez after both were burned by it multiple times in the past.
Major League Baseball announced a series of rule changes for the 2024 season Thursday afternoon, and the most notable one for anyone with current or recent ties to the Nats surely was the alteration to the first base running lane.
The runner’s lane will now be widened to include the dirt area between the foul line and the infield grass, MLB announced. In other words, a batter-runner will now be permitted to run in fair territory as long as he stays on the dirt and doesn’t venture onto the infield grass.
Because dirt cutouts aren’t universal across baseball, there will be some leeway for dimensions. The distance between the foul line and the infield grass will be between 18 and 24 inches in every MLB park, with some limited grace periods granted due to difficulty in modifying fields (such as ballparks that use artificial turf).
“Widening the lane allows batters to take a more direct path to first base while retaining protection from interference,” the league said in announcing the change.
MLB Pipeline’s top 30 prospects lists won’t be updated for a few more months. The highest-ranked Orioles pitcher is Chayce McDermott at No. 10. Two-thirds of the group are position players.
Right behind McDermott, the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year, is left-hander Cade Povich, the former third-round draft pick of the Twins who was part of the trade package for reliever Jorge López in 2022.
A lopsided deal, for sure, considering that executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias also got future All-Star reliever Yennier Cano and low minors reliever Juan Nuñez, ranked 28th in the system. Elias claimed López off waivers in September before the right-hander’s release and signing with the Mets.
Povich, 23, averaged 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings this summer between Double-A Bowie (18 starts) and Triple-A Norfolk (10), but also 4.7 walks. His final numbers, including a 5.04 ERA, didn’t tell the whole story.
Within the inconsistency to Povich’s season are the five scoreless innings against Double-A Akron, Richmond and Harrisburg within his first six starts, and seven shutout innings with one hit allowed, no walks and 13 strikeouts against Richmond on June 15.
