NEWSLETTER
For the most part, today’s memo from MLB on the sticky stuff crackdown was what you were expecting by this point, given all the reporting and rumors. But there was one biggy in there that kinda changes a whole lot of the discussion.
If you’re suspended for sticky stuff, your team doesn’t get to replace you on the roster during your suspension: “Clubs may not replace on the roster a player who is suspended for any on-field violation.”
In other words, if you get the boot for having sticky stuff, not only are you out for the next 10 days, but you just made your team have to play short-handed for the next 10 days. So, now, potentially screwing your whole team is part of the risk-benefit calculus when it comes to using a substance. To me, that’s as potent as any enforcement item MLB could’ve come up with, especially since the suspensions are with pay.
You can see the full memo in the tweet below, including the note that players have been advised not to wear sunscreen after the sun goes down or in a closed-roof stadium (seriously). It’s truly rosin or bust … unless your team plays a disproportionate volume of day games at an open-air ballpark. ADVANTAGE CUBS!
MLB Announces New Guidance to Deter Use of Foreign Substances pic.twitter.com/8AuXkj4RgW
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) June 15, 2021
