2017 – Major League Baseball adopts a significant rule change, as part of a strategy to speed up the game: a pitcher will no longer need to throw four pitches deliberately outside the strike zone in order to issue an intentional walk, but instead the defensive team’s manager will simply need to signal his intention to the home plate umpire, who will immediately direct the batter to advance to first base. However, given that there is on average one intentional walk every 2.5 games, the change is expected to have only a minimal impact on playing time.

2017 – C Matt Wieters inks a two-year contract worth $21 million with the Nationals; he is set to replace Wilson Ramos who left through free agency a few months earlier.

2017 – As pitchers and catchers begin to report for spring training, the Cardinals get some bad news: top pitching prospect Alex Reyes is diagnosed with a complete tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and will require Tommy John surgery, putting him out of action for the entire season. It’s also a loss for the Dominican Republic national team, which was counting on Reyes for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

2017 – Major League Baseball announces that a variation of the “Schiller Rule” used in international baseball will be tested in two Rookie-level minor leagues this season. In the Gulf Coast League and the Arizona League, if a game is tied after nine innings, every subsequent inning will start with a runner already on second base.