MLB commissioner Rob Manfred claimed one potential out-of-the-box rule change is creating “a little buzz.” 

While speaking with John Ourand on “The Varsity Podcast,” Manfred said that the “Golden at-bat rule” had been discussed around the league. 

For those unfamiliar with the idea, the general concept would allow a team to pick one at-bat in every game to send up its best hitter even though it was not their turn to hit, per The Athletic.

“There are a variety of [rule change ideas] that are being talked about out there. One of them—there was a little buzz around it at an owners’ meeting — was the idea of a ‘Golden At-Bat,'” Manfred said during the podcast. 

The MLB commish did clarify that it was very early in the process.

“That rule, and things like that, are in the conversation-only stage right now,” Manfred said.

There are a number of variations that could come with the “Golden at-bat rule,” according to The Athletic, ranging from limiting the opportunity to just the team trailing or tied late in the game to allowing each team to get one “Golden at-bat” but only beginning in the seventh inning. 

This could lead to a situation where a star hitter — such as the Yankees’ Aaron Judge — is now hitting twice in a row if you were to use the “Golden at-bat” before his time in the lineup.

The MLB has been implementing several rule changes in recent years and the success of those has given baseball confidence to continue to try and innovate. 

“One of the best things about the success we had last year … [was] that it makes people in the game more comfortable talking about change, you know?” Manfred said. “They had some confidence that you can manage the change process in a way that produces a good outcome.”