Girardi: Defensive shifts should be illegal

Joe Girardi has used unconventional defensive alignments more often than all but four managers through the first few weeks of the 2016 campaign, but the New York Yankees' longtime skipper said he would still outlaw the shift were he running Major League Baseball.

"It is an illegal defense, like basketball," Girardi, referring to defensive three seconds in the NBA, told reporters ahead of Tuesday's game in Arlington. "Guard your man, guard your spot. If I were commissioner, they would be illegal."

Last year, shortly after taking over as commissioner, Rob Manfred said he "would be open" to the possibility of eliminating the shift - an increasingly popular tactic in recent years - but he has since admitted that he "wasn't serious" about that idea. So, for now, Girardi will continue to shift aggressively.

"As long as it is legal, I'm going to play it," said Girardi, who had called for the shift 207 times heading into Tuesday.

When asked, incidentally, if it bothers him a little bit more that Nathan Eovaldi lost Monday's no-hit bid in the seventh inning on a ball Nomara Mazara punched through a shifted defense, Girardi was cryptic.

"Maybe," he said.