The Red Sox are finding a way to beat the MLB’s new and improved infield shift rules.
The MLB is here for 2023, and the shift is officially dead… Or so we thought.
With the new season comes dramatic rule changes, including a controversial pitch clock and a banning of the infield shift.
The infield shift is a defensive scheme that teams have used more and more since 2018 or so to limit balls getting batted into play. It involves positioning more than two infield players on either side of second base to the side that players most often send balls off the bat to limit the space they have available to get a ball to fall into fair play and reach safely.
This year, the rules stipulate that the shift as we knew it previously is illegal. Teams must have two infielders on both sides of second base at all times.
That said, there’s a loophole to this that the Red Sox have exploited first.
Red Sox debut a shift loophole, utilizing their outfield
The Red Sox were first to strike this year with the outfield shift. Though the new shift rules stipulate an infield shift is illegal, it doesn’t mean the outfield can’t be configured in an unbalanced way.
The Red Sox, with Joey Gallo batting, moved their left fielder to short right field where a shifted infielder would have stood in previous years.
Gallo, who the Red Sox know well since he is a former Yankee, is a predictable hitter who has moonshot potential but often found himself flying out, especially in pinstripes.
There’s risk and reward here, just like the infield shift. If the player can pull the ball to left field, you’re dead in the water… They could easily get a double or even triple with even weak contact. But if trends hold true for players that have a strong tendency to put balls in predictable areas, like Gallo, it will likely work.
It’s been pointed out several times now that Fenway park has a very short left field due to the Green Monster, so it may work better for them than any other team with left-handed batters.
Joey Gallo spring training stats
Joey Gallo has gone 2-for-8 so far in spring training with no RBI. In 10 plate appearances, he has reached base four times. His slash line is .250/.400/.375.