San Diego Padres reliever Carter Capps is scheduled to make his return from Tommy John surgery later this month, but he'll have to be extra careful about the way he approaches hitters when he takes the mound.
According to MLB.com's AJ Cassavell, a new MLB rule might have an impact on Capps' delivery, which has always featured a pronounced pivot-foot slide.
The update to Rule 5.07 "formalizes an umpire interpretation by stipulating that a pitcher may not take a second step toward home plate with either foot or otherwise reset his pivot foot in his delivery of the pitch. If there is at least one runner on base, then such an action will be called as a balk under Rule 6.02(a). If the bases are unoccupied, then it will be considered an illegal pitch under Rule 6.02(b)."
Whether Capps, 26, slides his pivot foot or uses it to hop toward home plate is the question, and MLB officials will probably scrutinize his delivery once he starts pitching in Cactus League games.
Padres manager Andy Green doesn't believe his pitcher's motion violates the rule, telling Cassavell that Capps is "dragging his foot down the slope. He's still exploding down the slope. There's a large percentage of pitchers who leave the rubber before they deliver the pitch."
San Diego acquired Capps from the Marlins last July in the trade that sent Andrew Cashner to Miami. Capps missed all of last season recovering from surgery, but compiled a 1.16 ERA across 31 innings (30 appearances) in 2015.
-- Nick Ostiller
