Report: MLB planning new rules to prevent cheating

Major League Baseball is letting teams know about plans for new in-game protocols to stop cheating during the 2020 season following the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal, according to Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated.

The league wants to close video rooms, limit video feeds to replay review monitors only, prevent non-uniformed club employees from entering clubhouses, and crack down on pitchers using foreign substances when on the mound, Verducci notes.

No final decisions have been made, Verducci reports, adding that MLB is working with the MLBPA to finalize the rules before Opening Day.

Special assistant to the commissioner Joe Torre and senior vice president Chris Young have reportedly been informing teams about the looming changes during spring training.

"We're not as far apart with the players association as you might think," Young said. "(Angels manager) Joe Maddon said it best: We need to return the game to being decided on the field rather than what's going on behind it."

The proposed plans would only allow players, seven coaches, interpreters, and trainers to be in the dugout and clubhouse during games, several managers and coaches told Verducci. The league will reportedly increase security to enforce the rule.

"Joe looked right at me and my manager and said, 'If your team does not comply, you're gone, and you're gone,'" an MLB general manager added.

The in-game video ban is still a work in progress, but the tightest measure proposed involves turning off all clubhouse and video-room televisions, and banning players from using their phones during contests, according to Verducci.

An exception could be made to allow one TV in the training room showing the game if it's on an eight-second delay, sources told Verducci.