The MLB announced a seismic change to the way the sport will be officiated. In 2026, Major League Baseball will implement the ABS challenge system. It has felt like the wind has been blowing in this direction for quite some time, but today the MLB officially announced it. In a tweet, they explained the finer details of the rule.
The biggest part for me is that teams have two challenges per game. If the player is correct, the team gets to keep the challenge. However, they are not allowed to get any help. It will solely be on the player to identify what they think balls and strikes are.
This really changes the game and will impact different players in different ways. The most identifiable way the game will change is the value of framing. MLB is not moving to a fully automated system, so framing will still have some value. Sometimes a catcher can trick both the umpire and the batter.
However, framing’s importance will be reduced. Players will be able to challenge the truly egregious calls. That means framing specialists like Patrick Bailey or Austin Hedges could be in trouble.
If we are going off of recent history, the implementation of ABS is very good news for the Washington Nationals. This season, the Nats have been the worst framing team in all of baseball, with -18 catcher framing runs.
The Nats framing woes are not a one year problem either. Since statcast started tracking framing runs in 2018, the Nats are by far the worst team in the league. They have amassed a staggering -97 framing runs since 2018. For context, the next worst team is the Orioles at -65. The Yankees and Giants have been the best framing teams, with 82 and 79 framing runs added.
So this rule change could really help the Nats win a few extra games on the margins. The Nats have never really prioritized catcher defense much, at least in the Mike Rizzo era. Yan Gomes was the only real plus defender behind the plate the Nats had over the past decade or so.
If Keibert Ruiz can get back to health and find some life with the bat, this rule could really benefit him. He was just leaking value due to having some of the worst framing skills in the league. Of course, framing still matters, but it will not matter as much next season and beyond.
I am interested to see what kinds of strategies will be used with this challenge system. Will managers tell their players to wait until later in games or when runners are on base to use the challenges? Will some players have a greener light to challenge than others?
MLB front offices and managers will be thinking about this all offseason as they prepare for life with ABS. I actually really like the challenge system as a compromise. It helps get more calls right, while also leaving a human element.
The new strategies it will create also interest me greatly. If you are a baseball fan, you should be excited for this. We saw in Spring Training that these checks don’t take too long either. Baseball just changed forever today. I think the change is a positive one and one that could help the Nats win a couple more games.
