MLB testing major rule changes in Atlantic League

Major League Baseball is using its partnership with the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball to test rule changes that could alter the sport's future.

MLB announced several modifications on Friday that will be implemented ahead of the 2019 Atlantic League season.

The new rules include:

• TrackMan radar to help umpires call balls and strikes
• Moving the pitching rubber back 24 inches from home plate in the second half of the season with no changes to mound height or shape
• Banning infield shifts
• Installing a three-batter minimum for pitchers
• No mound visits unless there's a pitching change or injury
• Increasing the size of the bases from 15 inches to 18 inches
• Reducing time between innings from two minutes, five seconds to 1:45.

None of these rules will apply to MLB in 2019, but the three-batter minimum has been discussed as a possibility in 2020.

MLB and the Atlantic League announced a three-year partnership in late February, allowing the league to experiment with a variety of rules.