Phillies' Turner a fan of new pickoff rules: 'It's going to be nice'

Baseball's new pickoff rules have already gained a fan in Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner.

Turner had plenty of praise for the adjustments after his Grapefruit League debut on Sunday. Moments after ripping a leadoff single, the two-time All-Star swiped second as Kyle Schwarber struck out. It was a remarkably easy steal for the two-time All-Star, who's expecting to be able to tear up the basepaths thanks to the limitations on pickoff attempts.

"I love it," Turner said about the pickoff rules, according to Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I'm looking forward to that a lot. Still not going to be super easy to steal bases, the game is hard in that aspect. From wear and tear on your body, I think it's going to be nice."

Starting this year, pitchers are only allowed to "disengage" from the rubber twice per plate appearance, and can only throw to a base once. A third disengagement will be ruled a ball, unless the pitcher successfully picks off the runner on the play.

The rule is designed to help boost stolen-base numbers, and create a more exciting brand of baseball. MLB consultant Theo Epstein said that the disengagement rule is also necessary in order to close a loophole that allowed pitchers to continually reset the 20-second pitch clock.

Turner is bound to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of this new rule. The 29-year-old has been baseball's premier base-stealer in an era of declining stolen-base rates. A two-time stolen-base leader, he's finished no lower than fifth in the league in each of his seven seasons, while his 228 steals since 2016 are the most in baseball over that span by a wide margin.

Turner's 27 steals with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022 marked his lowest total in a 162-game season. He cited the implementation of PitchCom, allowing pitchers and catchers to communicate without visual signals, as having hindered his success on the bases. But with pitchers now limited in their pickoff attempts, he feels the PitchCom advantage could be rendered moot.

"Last year, the PitchCom was really bad from a pickoff standpoint," Turner said. "I think I got more pickoffs last year at second base than I had in my entire career because, usually, we as middle infielders put the signs on and pitchers miss them. But when the PitchCom's in their ear yelling, 'Inside move!' it happens a lot."