TORONTO – As a terrific throw from Kevin Kiermaier was coming in from centre-field and Ty France was barrelling toward him at third base, Isiah Kiner-Falefa was thinking not only about making a tag but also making sure to not block the runner’s path to the bag.
“A hundred per cent,” said the Toronto Blue Jays utilityman, whose tag on France was late, leading to a replay review that overturned the initial out call. “I’m a knee-down guy. I always drop my knee, I always stick the tag, but right there, that’s something I have to work on.”
Kiner-Falefa needs to adjust because infielders can no longer drop their knee in front of a base to apply a tag, as Major League Baseball encouraged umpires to more strictly enforce pre-existing obstruction rules this year. A reduction of the pitch timer by two seconds and the widening of the runner’s lane down the first-base line are also new for 2024 and have garnered far more attention, but the interference push quietly worried defenders most.
The MLB rulebook defines obstruction as “the act of a fielder who, while not in possession of the ball and not in the act of fielding the ball, impedes the progress of any runner.”
Its application, under Rule 6.01 (h) includes the following passage pertinent to Kiner-Falefa’s thinking during that fifth inning play in Monday’s 5-2 win over the Seattle Mariners: “If a fielder is about to receive a thrown ball and if the ball is in flight directly toward and near enough to the fielder so he must occupy his position to receive the ball he may be considered ‘in the act of fielding a ball.’ It is entirely up to the judgment of the umpire as to whether a fielder is in the act of fielding a ball.”
The penalty for violation is another base, which at third means sending the runner home. And the tolerance for “occupying your position” is such that “a foot can’t even be in front of the base, a little bit,” said Kiner-Falefa. “If it’s half an inch, a centimetre, or millimetre, it’s interference.”
For plays at second and third where both the throw and the runner are arriving to the bag from the same direction, there’s a positioning decision to make for the infielder. Kiner-Falefa, a 2020 Gold Glove winner at third base, is still debating whether it’s best to stand behind the base or to straddle it, the way he did Monday.
“It’s just very uncomfortable for me,” he explained. “Second base is a little different because the runner only gets the third (if obstruction is called), but when it’s third base, I’m very, very cautious because I don’t want to give them a run. … That’s an incredible play that should be on ESPN and because of my mess up, it doesn’t get the love that it should get. And I think (Jose) Berrios would also have had an opportunity to go eight innings if you take out all those extra pitches. …
“That was a perfect throw. I had time to block (the base) if I wanted to, but it’s just a fear of not allowing a free run. Can’t happen again. Won’t happen again.”
MANOAH’S NEXT STEPS
Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins focused on process over results after Alek Manoah’s first rehab start Sunday when he allowed seven runs, six earned, on five hits and four walks for low-A Dunedin against Lakeland.
Where his next outing comes wasn’t immediately clear – the club is still working through that – with Atkins praising “the electric nature” of Manoah’s stuff in the outing. “It wasn’t a lot of hard contact. It was more just command for him. I feel like he was a little bit out of sync. He talked about that. I watched it. The power is back, the depth to his slider is back. His athleticism down the mound was really, really impressive. And then he felt good about his outing. If that continues to happen, then you’ll see very different results.”
Manoah sat 94.4 m.p.h. with his fastball and topped out at 96.2, while his slider was also harder than a year ago at 81.5 m.p.h., with an average of three more inches in vertical break. Still, he got just three whiffs and of the nine balls put in play against him, three were at 99.7 m.p.h. or higher, including Brett Callahan’s homer at 107.5.
Rehab assignments for pitchers can last up to 30 days so as long as Manoah is physically healthy, the Blue Jays will soon have to make a decision on him.
“Nothing’s black and white,” Atkins replied when asked if the righty has to win his way back to the majors. “We’ll weigh our alternatives and obviously his track record matters. But it’s not going to be just defined on him having a six-inning shutout outing in Buffalo. There will be other variables that go into the decision.”
YARIEL’S BUILDUP
Yariel Rodriguez made his second start for triple-A Buffalo on Sunday, throwing 2.1 shutout innings with four strikeouts against Worcester before being lifted at 57 pitches. He’d gone 67 pitches in his first outing, when he struck out six in four shutout innings, also against Worcester, and the Blue Jays plan to keep him in that range rather than try to build him up further as they aim to get him through the entire season.
“We’ll keep him on a steady, consistent turn that he can be available as a reliever or someone that could be lengthened out at the major-league level,” said Ross Atkins. “But ideally want the bulk of his performance to be available to us in the major leagues. So early in the season, we’ll be cautious with how deep he’s getting into games, but remains an option for us to come up as a reliever or starter or someone that’s pitching more than a couple of innings.”
BAD NEWS FOR BARRIERA
Brandon Barriera, the Blue Jays’ first-round pick in 2022, underwent an MRI on his left elbow Monday night and is awaiting results.
The 20-year-old left an outing Saturday after injuring himself on the 21st pitch of his season debut. After the catcher threw the ball back to him, he began shaking out his arm, whipped the ball down to the turf in frustration, squatted down in pain and eventually walked off the mound.
Barriera made just seven starts last year due to elbow and biceps issues, but had improved player-development staff with how he looked this season.
