Technology to stop sign stealing gets tested by Twins

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — Gary Sanchez looked at his wrist, pressed a button, and got into a crouch as he waited for a pitch. On the mound, Bailey Ober heard a prerecorded, disembodied voice say into his ear: "Fastball, inside."

And Twins baseball took another step into the future.

Ober and Sanchez became the first Twins battery to utilize the PitchCom system Tuesday, and Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said it may become a fixture as soon as this season. The simple devices — the catcher straps a transmitter to his wrist, and the pitcher tucks a small, flat speaker into the side of his cap near the ear — are designed to eliminate the possibility of sign-stealing or misread signals.

"We've told our guys we're going to use it," Baldelli said. "We're going to get some use out of this right now, use our time wisely. We think it's a real possibility that it's going to be approved [by MLB]. So we're going to be ready for it."

The Twins have tested the system with several pitchers during bullpen sessions, but Tuesday was the first time anyone wore it on the mound during a game. The response has been positive, Baldelli said.

"The guys have taken to it quickly. It has not been a super-long learning curve," Baldelli said. "We're still going to play with it. Initially, I wasn't sure it was something we were going to implement; I wasn't positive. The more I thought about it, the more I think it's going to be something we're going to use if we can."

Ober said his first game with PitchCom went smoothly. "It was fine. It's kind of weird — you have to get used to it," the righthander said. "You just hear it say, 'Fastball, up,' 'Slider, away,' things like that."

Among the roster decisions that Baldelli and the front office must make in the final week of spring training is a perennial one: How many catchers?

With Sanchez replacing Mitch Garver on the Twins' roster, the question becomes a little trickier this season, because Sanchez could find himself in the lineup as a designated hitter on days he's not behind the plate, could be used as a pinch-hitter and not be available later in the game, or could be removed for a defensive replacement late in certain games.

And with fill-in catcher Willians Astudillo and long-ago catcher Josh Donaldson no longer on the roster, a midgame injury could leave the Twins short of catching.

"It's a consideration, absolutely," Baldelli said. "There are scenarios where we start the year with two, we start the year with three, we start the year with two knowing that we may have to go to three at a certain point. But knowing one of your catchers is going to be one of your semi-regular DHs, it definitely forces you to consider a lot of different things."

Fortunately, teams will be allowed to carry 28 players in April, making a third catcher on the roster not such a tight squeeze as normal. Jose Godoy, the 27-year-old Venezuelan claimed off waivers two weeks ago, is an option to join Sanchez and Ryan Jeffers.

Then again, true emergencies are rare, Baldelli pointed out. And he's not certain yet how much his lineups or substitution patterns will affect the catching workload.

"It's just part of the game, and you deal with it as you go," he said. If he were left without a catcher for a few innings, "I think we could talk someone into going back there."

Ober wore No. 16 for the first time Tuesday, after surrendering No. 17 — which he had worn for just the three weeks of camp, after sporting No. 82 as a rookie — to newcomer Chris Archer.

"He called me and kind of shared his perspective on the number and went into a little bit of detail of just why it was important to him. It has a special meaning to him," Ober explained. "I felt like it was respectful for a young guy like me to give him the chance to wear the number he wants to wear. Maybe a year or two from now, I'll get it back."