Joe Torre Says MLB Looking into Sliding Rules Due to Safety Concerns

Major League Baseball wants to avoid injuries that result from sliding.

That was the message chief baseball officer Joe Torre gave Wednesday during MLB's general manager meetings in Florida. After the injury that New York Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada suffered as a result of Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley's slide in the National League Division Series, change could be coming, but not right away, per the Associated Press.

"We don't want to have guys carried off the field," Torre said. "Obviously, you can't lose sight of what the game is about. You don't want somebody just not trying to get to second base and not trying to keep the inning going. It's a thin line that you have to walk, and that's why it's really tough to put pen to paper."

The discussion comes less than two years after MLB created a rule to restrict head-on collisions at home plate, notably after San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey suffered a gruesome leg injury in 2011.

The league suspended Utley for two games for the slide.

But to what degree can MLB restrict sliding? Safety is a major concern—there's no doubt about that—but there's only so much a runner can do without making it look as though he isn't giving enough effort while heading toward the base.

Torre is right: It is a thin line to walk. However, there is a difference between giving effort and being too aggressive, which is what Torre saw Utley's incident as, per ESPN.com's Adam Rubin.

"I thought first off he slid too late, plus he didn't make an effort to touch the base,” Torre said. “His target was the infielder."

If MLB is going to implement a rule to reduce injuries, it's safe to assume it won't happen for a few years.