Major League Baseball has introduced plenty of new rules for the 2023 season, and the shift is indeed a part of the game that MLB wants to see less often. With the new rules, the shift isn’t completely banned — just restricted. And teams have found a way to work around the restrictions.
It just didn’t exactly work out for the Kansas City Royals on the first attempt.
Joey Gallo — now with the Minnesota Twins — is one of those hitters who saw the extremist of shifts deployed against him in the pre-New Rules era. He’s a true pull hitter who doesn’t hit for average or bunt, so you’d see entire infields stacked towards the right side. Even with the new rules, the Red Sox used a loophole against Gallo in spring training.
On Thursday, the Royals took a similar approach, moving right fielder M.J. Melendez in to play the “rover” position in shallow right field. But Melendez plays outfield (and catcher) for a reason — he’s not used to fielding ground balls and throwing to first.
Joey Gallo still getting shifted but this one results in a reach on error.#MNTwins | #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/rVFPMh5HdU
— Inside Edge (@IE_MLB) March 30, 2023
This new take on the Gallo Shift worked in theory because, well, Gallo hit the ball right at Melendez. The Royals right fielder just couldn’t make the play, and Gallo reached on the error. In previous seasons, you’d see the third baseman take that “rover” spot and easily make the play. So while the shift is still around to some degree, it might be less effective when you’re asking outfielders to make infielder-type plays.
But is that shift on Gallo even necessary? Sure, he’s a heavy pull hitter. But he also has a career .199 average and a huge strikeout rate. Teams should be able to handle him without reconfiguring an entire outfield.
Gallo probably knows it’s coming by now, though.