MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is no stranger to pitching bold ideas, but his latest suggestions about starting pitching have sparked backlash, with Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman leading the charge.
Manfred recently appeared on the Questions for Cancer podcast, where he discussed the declining number of innings thrown by starting pitchers and proposed solutions to address the issue. One of his ideas involves implementing a minimum pitch or performance threshold before managers can pull a starting pitcher from the game, barring injuries.
Gausman didn’t hold back his disdain. Sharing a clip of Manfred’s comments on X (formerly Twitter), the two-time All-Star fired off:
“Don’t believe a word this man says. Get ready for 6 innings you get to keep the DH, if not a fan hits in their spot.”
Manfred’s argument centers around preserving the role of starting pitchers as the face of the game. “The name and face you see the most during a broadcast is the starting pitcher,” Manfred said during the podcast. “The matchups of great starting pitchers have historically been important for marketing the game … I think we need to get back to that.”
The numbers back up his concern. According to CBS Sports, the average innings per start has steadily declined, from 6.3 in 1984 to just 5.2 in 2024.
In addition to the minimum pitch rule, Manfred suggested revising roster and transaction policies to limit bullpen turnover. He noted that teams currently have the flexibility to send overworked relievers to the minors and call up fresh arms, which reduces the need to develop starters capable of pitching deep into games.
“I think we need to create incentives, through things like roster rules, to develop pitchers who go deeper into games,” Manfred said.
However, forcing starters to pitch longer raises concerns about injuries, an issue already plaguing modern baseball. While Manfred acknowledged this, he argued that the emphasis on velocity and spin rates is a bigger contributor to the rise in injuries than workload itself.
Gausman, who led MLB with two complete games and logged 181 innings this past season, is no stranger to going the distance. With a 14-11 record, 3.83 ERA, and a spot on the 2023 AL All-Star team, he’s proven himself a workhorse on the mound—making his critique of Manfred’s proposals all the more striking.
The commissioner’s ideas aim to restore starting pitchers as key figures in baseball’s narrative, but with prominent players like Gausman publicly opposing such changes, it’s clear the road ahead will be anything but smooth.
