As we turn the page to the 2023 Season, the Roger Dorn Baseball League will celebrate its 10th Anniversary Season after a decade of success that has included the crowning of eight different champions in nine seasons the play. Established in 2013, the then Danville Aristocrats kicked off the league's inaugural season with the first RDBL Championship while the Spokane Fightin' Fish are the only Franchise with more than one title to their name.
To celebrate the league's run of success, the new "10" RDBL logo will be featured throughout the 2023 season as we as at the top of the RDBL website.
As they do annually, the Roger Dorn Baseball League Commissioner's Office will leverage the next two months to review the landscape of the league while working with the Ownership groups to make any improvements to the rulebook that would benefit the league.
Here is a review of the RDBL Off-Season Schedule as well as some potential rule changes that are currently being reviewed.
November 1st - RDBL Rosters Must be Trimmed to 40
Implemented at the conclusion of the 2021 season, the RDBL Commissioner's Office mandates that all club's can have a maximum of 40 players under contract by November 1st.
RDBL Transactions Frozen Until February 1st
While Front Offices can communicate and finalize details privately, all trades and player movement will be frozen from November 1st to February 1st. This "quiet period" led to significant condensed transactions in February and March last season as well as provided all clubs a shortened schedule to focus on the RDBL.
Monday, March 27th
The 2023 Roger Dorn Baseball League Draft is set for Monday, March 27th at 12:30pm PST.
Three Rule Changes Being Discussed for the 2023 Season
The league made positive changes in the 2022 season, pushing the prospect activation date from Period 7 to Period 9, leading to a more aggressive approach to activations by many clubs.
Trades were also frozen from the Keeper Roster Deadline to the completion of Period 1 which was a big positive following the firesale of clubs during the 2021 Auction.
Lastly, the move to add a third season of control to big league players selected in the Reserve Draft was highly regarded by RDBL Front Offices with Miles Mikolas, Michael Conforto, Merrill Kelly and Patrick Sandoval standing out as some of the most likely candidates to see those options exercised in 2024.
With those tweaks in mind, here are three potential adjustments the Commissioner's Office is currently reviewing:
Trade Deadline Adjustment: There seemed to be consensus that the RDBL Trade Deadline was too early in the League Schedule. While we would deal with the repercussions of not matching up with the MLB Trade Deadline, the RDBL Commissioner's Office has proposed moving the deadline up two weeks prior to the MLB Deadline which will typically fall in mid July. The current setup has allowed clubs to ride the line of buying and selling as it falls too late in the RDBL Regular Season.
Addition of 1.0 Points for Holds: The RDBL Commissioner's Office has kept a close eye on player usage trends which have changed greatly over the last 10 seasons. The use and importance of high-leverage relievers and the shrinking pool of true full-time closers has created a potential need to add 1.0 points per hold, adding value to high-end setup men and to relievers on clubs that utilize more of a closer by committee approach. Much like catchers, the league maintains a view that there is a top-tier of closers that are worth a higher price which is evident by $20 and $15 bids to the top two available closers in the 2021 Auction.
FAAB System for Waivers Being Considered: The RDBL moved towards more Front Office control over the weekly roster when clubs were given access to make internal lineup changes two seasons ago. The Commissioner's Office is taking a deep review of the Waiver and Free Agent process with the potential of moving the entire process "online" through CBS while installing a Free Agent bidding system which would allow every club access to the top available talent weekly should they submit the highest bid. The move would also open up teams to more unlimited claims/drops per week.
While more details will be provided as options are reviewed, each club would be provided with a $100 Free Agent Budget which can be used throughout the season for weekly Sunday Waiver Claims. While sticking to the current 40-man roster limits, clubs could submit multiple claims which would be processed overnight Sunday with the highest bid earning the rights to players that received multiple bids.
Feedback over the current manual process and limitations of doing that work on Sunday night as opposed to submitting potential bids days in advance for the upcoming Sunday have led to the option gaining traction.
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