Report: MLB Informs Teams of Severity of Pitchers Using Foreign Substances

Major League Baseball "informed owners this week of [the] severity of [the] issue with pitchers applying foreign substances to baseballs," according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. 

Per that report, "enforcement is coming," though the league will be further communicating with both the players' and umpires' unions about the issue.  

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported earlier Thursday that MLB owners met to discuss the issue and reportedly came up with three points of focus:

• Putting more responsibility on individual teams to police their pitchers and prevent them from doctoring baseballs with foreign substances. 
• Giving umpires more latitude to check for foreign substances on a pitcher's hat, uniform, etc. 
• Increasing enforcement in the minor leagues to change the cultural roots of the practice. 

"Any chance we get to equal the playing ground is what's necessary," White Sox closer Liam Hendriks told reporters Thursday. "As long as it's even across the field. That's all that I ask for. ... We need to make sure that we govern it."

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos told Chris Rose on Thursday he didn't think Major League Baseball particularly cared about the issue (h/t Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer):

"“Is it illegal or is not illegal to put stuff on a ball? It’s illegal. The league obviously knows that they are doing it, but the league doesn’t care. They don’t care because if it was really a problem that they wanted, they would put people in the bullpen to check gloves, to check hats, whatever. The league would do something about it. But honestly, I don’t think it’s that important to them.”"

Pitchers have argued that some outside substances can help them better control their pitches, making it less likely they'll accidentally hit a batter. The counterargument is that substances allow pitchers to increase their spin rate, which in turn makes those pitches harder to hit (breaking balls gain more movement, for instance). 

It sounds as though the league agrees with the second argument and, contrary to Castellanos' viewpoint, does in fact care about the issue. Just how seriously any potential rules are enforced remains to be seen.