Overview
- During the sixth inning of Sunday’s game in Toronto, home-plate umpire Steven Jaschinski used the microphone to warn José Caballero for “intentionally delaying” the game and said a strike would be called if it happened again.
- The warning led to a more than two-minute on-field discussion between Caballero, Yankees manager Aaron Boone, Jaschinski and crew chief John Tumpane while play was paused.
- Boone told reporters he spoke at length with MLB to get specific guidance and then gave Caballero instructions about how to be judged as “alert” by the eight-second pitch-timer cutoff.
- Caballero says he believes his late engagement routine follows the rule and still wants exact clarity on where the line is, and he plans to ask umpires before plate appearances if needed.
- Opponents including Blue Jays manager John Schneider and reliever Spencer Miles expressed frustration with Caballero’s tactics, and the episode highlights ongoing tension over how the pitch-timer rule adopted in 2023 is interpreted and enforced.