Major League Baseball hasn't told teams whether or not the DH will return to the National League in 2021, but they have given organizations directions on how they should proceed this offseason.
MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal reports that the league "instructed clubs in a memo last week to proceed under the assumption the DH will not be used in the NL this year."
Don't get it twisted, though, this isn't MLB announcing that the DH won't be universal in 2021. Instead, it's the sport more or less telling teams not to hold their breath as negotiations go on between them and the player's association. If MLB gets the concessions that they want - Ken Davidoff of The New York Post says it's an expanded postseason field for a second straight year - then the DH will return. If not, who knows.
Is it fair to National League teams that they don't have the benefit, like American League teams, of knowing whether the DH will return in 2021? No, not really. But, it kind of is what it is. The long-held expectation in the sport is that the DH will become universal on a permanent basis as part of the new collective bargaining agreement that will need to be in place before the 2022 season. But it's not part of the current CBA, so MLB and MLBPA would need to reach a separate agreement for the DH to return to the National League in 2021.
In addition to National League teams being in limbo as they try to construct their rosters for 2021, multiple free agents are waiting to see if they could be of service to half the league. Nelson Cruz, for example, has hit 417 home runs in his career, but at age 40, is strictly a DH. Other free agents like Marcell Ozuna, Kyle Schwarber and Joc Pederson would benefit from at least being able to DH on a part-time basis for National League teams, even if they're also capable of eating up some innings in the field.
Perhaps we'll get a resolution on whether the DH will return in the National League for a second consecutive season during this week's virtual MLB Winter Meetings. But buckle up, because we didn't learn about postseason expansion for the 2020 season until it was literally opening day. There's no saying that the negotiations over the DH won't drag out in a similar manner.
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