Joey Gallo can't escape the shift, even after MLB's ban
One of MLB's many rule changes this season has been widely called a ban of the defensive shift, but that's not entirely accurate, as new Minnesota Twins outfielder Joey Gallo learned Friday.
Gallo, a dead pull hitter and one of the players most victimized by the shift, found himself once again hitting with a defender in the shallow outfield between first and second base in a spring training game against the Boston Red Sox.
In this shift, the Red Sox kept their infield near their usual positions, but moved left fielder Raimel Tapia to center field and center fielder Adam Duvall to the usual shift spot:
Defensive shifts have not been banned.
Defensive shifts have been restricted.
Check it out. 👇 pic.twitter.com/w99NA7q0po— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 3, 2023
Why could the Red Sox do that? Well, the new MLB rule aimed to get rid of the shift by requiring all infielders to stay in the infield and have two of them on either side of second base at all times. The rules, however, say nothing about what teams can't do with outfielders.
If a team like the Red Sox is more worried about a line drive single to shallow right than a potential extra-base hit to an empty left field, it's still its prerogative to move the outfield as it pleases. Teams are also allowed to bring an outfielder in to form a five-man infield in a situation where defending groundballs is pivotal.
The upshot is Gallo could still struggle to get the non-homer hits that have eluded him in his career.
Among players with at least 1,200 plate appearances over the last three years, Gallo's .236 batting average on balls in play ranks third-lowest in all of MLB, per Fangraphs. He hits the ball hard, isn't slow running the bases, had a fly ball rate higher than Aaron Judge and a line drive rate higher than Juan Soto last year, per Baseball Savant, but also hit into the shift in 90% of his plate appearances.
Combine that with a ghastly 39.8% strikeout rate, and you can turn an All-Star into a journeyman who hit .160/.280/.357 between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Whether or not Gallo can make a change, shift or no shift, will determine the rest of his career.
