"The 2026 MLB season will see the full implementation of the Automated Ball Strike (ABS) Challenge System after its trial run in Spring Training last year. The rule change was voted on by the joint competition committee toward the end of last year. The ABS system will be limited to the regular season in 2026, with postseason implementation beginning next year."
"New wrinkle with MLB implementing the ABS challenge system for the regular season in 2026: In extra innings, teams will always have at least one challenge. So, if a team has zero after nine, it'll get one for the 10th. If it loses it in the 10th, it'll get one again for the 11th. - Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) February 13, 2026"
"The arrival of the ABS challenge system represents the biggest change to the sport since multiple alterations were put in place at the start of the 2023 season. The pitch clock, larger bases and restrictions on shifts have all achieved the desired results of improving the pace of play and increasing offense. A core tenet of this review system is how many challenges each team has to start the game. Each team starts every game with two challenges, and only a successful challenge is retained."
The Automated Ball Strike (ABS) Challenge System will be fully implemented in the 2026 MLB regular season after a Spring Training trial, with postseason use to begin the following year. Teams will start each game with two challenges, and only successful challenges are retained. In extra innings, each team is guaranteed at least one challenge per half-inning; a team with zero after nine innings receives one for the 10th, and if that challenge is lost it receives another for the 11th, and so on. The rule does not grant an extra 10th-inning challenge if a team already has challenges remaining. The model raises pace-of-play concerns because it can produce at least one challenge each half-inning in extra frames.
Read at Dodger Blue
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