New 10-day disabled list gives teams more flexibility
Baseball’s new 10-day disabled list seems to be quite a hit so far.
The 15-day DL timetable was reduced to 10 this season, and already the effects are fairly clear. Through April 30, there had been 177 instances of a player going on the 10-day DL, according to Major League Baseball. Last season, there were only 149 placements onto the 15-day DL through April 30.
“I think it’s a much better deal,” San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said Sunday. “It makes it easier to DL these guys who are in that 7-to-10 day area. It certainly allows you to be creative, too. If you want to send a pitcher down and get some help, you can do that, too.”
Keeping an injured player active is a waste of a roster spot, but in the past, teams might have been hesitant to use the DL if there was a good chance the player could return in under 15 days. Now that the DL requires only a 10-day absence, it’s a bit more palatable .
Those 177 DL placements through April 30 took up a total of 3,587 days — that does not count days spent on the DL before opening day. That’s an average of about 20 days per DL placement, so in many cases, there won’t be any real difference between a 15-day DL and a 10-day DL.
Still, the shorter DL can be a big help sometimes.
“Love it,” Cincinnati manager Bryan Price said. “Now we can make some decisions that don’t handicap teams as much. I think it’s a great idea. It serves the player and the team in a positive way.”
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AP Sports Writer Joe Kay contributed to this report.
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