St. Louis Cardinals News: MLB telling teams DH not likely in 2021

In the latest of the long line of dumb things the MLB has chosen to do, reports say they have told teams to operate as if there won’t be a DH in 2021.

One of the things that the St. Louis Cardinals and their fans are known for is the rich sense of history the team has. Whether it is the 11 World Series championships or the many Hall of Famers the team has inducted, there is no questioning the rich history of the team.

Because of this and the traditionalism that normally follows this rich history, it was unsurprising to see many fans against the Designated Hitter in the National League when those debates came up over the past few years. During the break before the true beginning of the 2020 season, the Designated Hitter was whipped into the plan without much of a debate, more or less forcing it on fans.

There was some backlash, but it seemed that most fans quickly dropped their arguments for letting pitchers flail at the plate, even if it was replaced by a poorly hitting fielder. The DH also helped teams (like the Cardinals) play more of their young players while getting aging veterans at-bats without hurting the team in the field.

It was believed around baseball that the DH in the NL was like Pandora’s Box; once it was there, it would always be there. After the season ended, the beginnings of a storm that will plague the MLB likely for the next 18 months or more began. After the negotiations for returning to play went so poorly, it seems as though the impending CBA negotiations aren’t going to go any better.

In a move that more or less confirms that, the owners have decided to use the DH as a bargaining chip.

Every time the MLB has a chance to bridge the gap between players and owners, they choose the path that further divides the two sides. This nugget is from Ken Rosenthal’s most recent notes piece at The Athletic, and it is woven into a section about how teams don’t even know what their roster size will be for 2021.

Fans and other writers are frustrated at the lack of activity this winter, especially on the hitter’s market of free agency. Team budgets are still up in the air with all of the vaccine uncertainty and the potential for fans in the stands, but that could easily be the only thing standing in the way of teams spending money.

Instead, teams don’t know if they are going to have a DH and they don’t know what their roster size will be. This is like two children bickering back and forth about who gets to go down the slide first. The MLB is capping their own market, and for what? 15 more jobs in the league?

Spending on hitters will be cut if teams do act as if there won’t be a DH in the NL because now those teams won’t go after the Designated Hitters on the market. With 15 fewer teams in the market for a DH, those players will end up making less money.

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NL teams were at a significant disadvantage in 2020 after they didn’t get any time to plan for a DH. Now, even after this memo from Rob Manfred to “plan for no DH,” certainty still isn’t guaranteed. NL teams could still have the DH thrown on them in the spring and spend another year unprepared.

For the Cardinals specifically, not having a DH hurts their ability to spread playing time around a lot. They are still looking to add to the outfield, but with no DH, playing time for Dexter Fowler is going to cut into everyone else’s. The DH freed the team up to do so many things, and now pitchers will have to hit again after a year of not seeing a single at-bat.

This bellyaching might be overreacting, as Rosenthal included that while Manfred has told teams to act like they won’t have the DH, “few will complain if the league and the union reach agreement to the contrary.” While that is a good thing to hear, that requires the two sides to agree which has proven difficult in the past.

Teams need certainty to spend comfortably. Fans want spending to get excited about the upcoming season. When fans are excited about a season, they spend more money. This is a simple math equation that the MLB has missed on big time already this winter.

This news not only hurts the Cardinals, but it also hurts the entire MLB. Spending is being discouraged, jobs are being wagered, and fans are being disappointed. I hope this is all posturing, but the fact that the DH is being used as a carrot on a stick makes the MLB look bad regardless of the outcome.