*Photo from Bleacher Report*
MLB is reportedly expected to implement the universal DH in 2020, according to Jim Bowden of The Athletic. MLB presented a plan to the players association for the start of the 2020 season today, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post says the universal DH concept was included in that proposal. The AL has used the DH since 1973, but the NL hasn't used it, instead opting for pitchers to hit.
While the DH is used in the American League, in this day and age there aren't many teams that have a full time DH. The Twins had Nelson Cruz and the Astros have Yordan Alvarez in terms of full time DH's, but the Astros reportedly want to use Alvarez in the field more. The Red Sox had JD Martinez as their DH for 3/4 of the time in 2019, and the Angels use Shohei Ohtani at DH when he isn't pitching. Other than those 4 teams, there aren't clear cut DH favorites on any other squad. The universal DH would favor teams with more depth, especially in the NL, where teams like the Dodgers and Nationals could give a few more guys more playing time at the DH spot.
The universal DH is just one of many things proposed in the plan that MLB owners ratified on Monday. Other aspects include a two to three week spring training in each team's home city, a season that would start around the 4th of July that would be cut in half to around 80 games, and divisions based on geography, cutting down on travel to try and expose as little of the players to COVID-19 as possible. The players association received the proposal from MLB today and will discuss and vote on it soon.
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