Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning during the regular season you’ll get a fresh, topical story to start your day from one of SI.com’s MLB writers.
If everything had gone according to plan, MLB rules would have changed this week to drop the number of pitchers on a roster from 14 to 13.
But that move has now been pushed back twice. Originally supposed to go into effect May 2, the adjustment was delayed first to May 30 and then to June 19, both times to give teams more flexibility as they recover from a spring training shortened by the lockout.