Max Scherzer Discusses New Potential Rules to Prevent Sign Stealing

Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer says Major League Baseball and the Players Association are in discussions about implementing new rules to help prevent teams from stealing signs.

Speaking to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich, Scherzer said:

"Really trying to get in talks with players across the league to try to come up with as fair a system as possible. Replay has been in the game and enhances the game, but we've seen the unintended consequences of this. ... We need to come up with rules now that limit how many cameras we can have on the field, how much replay we can actually have. We're trying to decide how much access players should have to that during the game."

Teams have increased the use of replay and video footage available during games, with players being able to look at their at-bats as a way to make in-game adjustments.

The availability of video and replay has come to the forefront in MLB as a result of the Houston Astros' cheating scandal.

Per the results of MLB's official investigation, the Astros established a system during the 2017 season using a video replay room and a television feed from a camera set up in center field at Minute Maid Park to steal signs from opposing teams:

"Once the sign sequence was decoded, a player in the video replay review room would act as a 'runner' to relay the information to the dugout, and a person in the dugout would notify the players in the dugout or signal the sign sequence to the runner on second base, who in turn would decipher the catcher's sign and signal to the batter from second base."

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters earlier this month we can "assume that before the season starts we will have new guidelines with respect to the use of video equipment."

Rosenthal and Drellich noted it's unlikely that MLB will change rules to require players to remain in the dugout for the duration of games, but MLB and the MLBPA are "not said to be far apart" in their discussions for new video policies to be implemented before the regular season.

MLB's 2020 season begins March 26 with all 30 teams in action.