The Shift is dead in MLB. But is the ‘two-man outfield’ next? And will it work?

The Shift is dead. But of course, you knew that. It’s the one thing everyone knew about MLB’s new rules this spring. The Shift is dead.

Oh, wait.

Let’s roll back the clock to March 3. Red Sox versus Twins. Here comes longtime shift fan Joey Gallo, now a Twin, marching toward the plate. What crazy thing could possibly happen next? How about this crazy thing:

All right, so what the heck is that? Let’s explain what you’re looking at in that Heinz Kluetmeier-esque piece of classic sports photography by The Athletic’s very own Aaron Gleeman.

See that dude, circled above, in short right field? That’s Red Sox center fielder Adam Duvall, in a sneaky shift-like position. The left fielder, Raimel Tapia? He’s over in center. And who’s in left? The terrifying answer: Nobody is in left.

Welcome to The Shift — or what’s left of it — 2023 New Rules Edition.

Should it be known as … The Two-Man Outfield Shift? Or should it be known as … The OMG Nobody Is Playing Left Field Shift?

Fun question to contemplate. So let’s do that.

But first, let’s explain why weird stuff like this is what shifting is reduced to in 2023. The new rules say that teams have to have two infielders on each side of second base — and can’t have any more infielders hanging out on the outfield grass. That’s a seismic change.

So those exaggerated shifts of yesteryear, with three infielders overloaded on one side of the field and one of them lurking in short right? They’re officially outlawed — as illegal as parking in front of a fire hydrant. Hence the need for The OMG Nobody Is Playing Left Field Shift.

So now that our quick explainer is out of the way, let’s hear from a few folks who were part of this Joey Gallo shift extravaganza. Here’s the Red Sox second baseman that day, Enmanuel Valdez, after discovering there was an outfielder stationed right over his shoulder.

The Athletic: Did you look over at left field and notice how much open space there was?

Valdez (through a club interpreter): Oh, yeah. I thought when I looked out there, “Oh, wow.”

The Athletic: Had you practiced it before you did it?

Valdez: No, no. It was the first time.

The Athletic: So did you think to yourself, “What am I going to do if he hits a fly ball to left?”

Valdez (laughing): Oh, wow.

Now here’s the man at the plate, Gallo himself, whom Statcast tells us was shifted on in 89.8 percent of his plate appearances last season (and obviously enjoyed that thoroughly).

The Athletic (via Dan Hayes, one of our Twins writers): What went through your mind when you saw the center fielder for the Red Sox run over to short right field and they lined up in that two-man outfield?

Gallo: I didn’t think much of it because I heard that teams would probably try it out.

The Athletic: So how can you and other left-handed hitters get teams to…