Report: MLB Instituting 15-Day IL for Pitchers to Prevent Roster Manipulation

Major League Baseball is reportedly taking precautions with the injured list to prevent teams from manipulating their rosters during the season. 

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the current 10-day injured list will still be used for position players and a 15-day injured list will be used for pitchers.

When MLB first proposed going back to a standard 15-day IL for all players in January, the Associated Press noted it was aimed at "reducing the use of relief pitchers and reviving offense."

Under MLB's collective bargaining agreement agreed to in December 2016, the mandatory minimum amount of time on the injured list was reduced from 15 to 10 days for non-concussion injuries. There is also a separate seven-day injured list for concussions. 

The change was initially designed to give teams more wiggle room with smaller injuries that wouldn't normally require more than two weeks to recover, but it has turned out to cause roster shenanigans over the past three seasons. 

Sports Illustrated's Stephanie Apstein wrote in May about instances of teams seemingly using the IL for fake injuries to rotate pitchers in and out, citing the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers as an example:

"The Dodgers used this strategy to great effect in 2017, when their 38 DL trips led baseball. (League average was 22.9.) They needed to fit seven starting pitchers into a five-man rotation, so they turned the locker room into an emergency room. Ten days off only costs a pitcher one start, so if you game it out meticulously enough, you can buy low on players with injury histories, then get them all extra rest down the stretch."

By extending the IL for pitchers to 15 days, teams will likely be more cautious with how they utilize it because that length of time will cost someone to miss at least two starts.