Lindor: 'The shift has got to be cut down'
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor has chimed in on the debate about shifts.
Lindor believes teams have become overreliant on the extreme defensive alignments.
"The shift has got to be cut down," Lindor said, according to Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated. "Let me do me. Let me make the crazy play. Let me be like, 'OK, he's going to pull the ball. I can't be on that side of the base.'"
The discussion surrounding shifts has resurfaced after Thursday's announcement that MLB will test experimental rule changes in the minor leagues in 2021. A ban on extreme defensive shifts will be implemented in Double-A as part of the changes in an effort to increase balls in play.
New York Yankees slugger Luke Voit openly questioned banning shifts, adding that major leaguers should be able to adapt.
But shifts aren't the only issue Lindor would like to see fixed. The four-time All-Star wants the league and MLBPA to market players and the game more aggressively.
"We can't market the shift. We can't market strikeouts," the 27-year-old said.