Editing Relief pitcher (section)

==Position players as relievers==
{{Main|Pitching by position players}}
In games where a blowout is occurring, position players (non-pitchers) may be substituted in to pitch to save the bullpen for the next game. However, this is a rare occurrence as position players are not truly trained as pitchers, and tend to throw with less velocity and/or accuracy. There is also the increased risk of injury, such as [[Jose Canseco]] who suffered a season-ending arm injury after pitching two innings in a 1993 game. For these reasons, managers will typically only use a position player as a pitcher in a blowout loss, or in order to avoid a forfeit once they have run out of available pitchers. Typically, the position player also pitched at the high school or collegiate level, as smaller roster sizes at amateur levels forced some position players to pitch, with some were recruited in college also as pitchers, as starters or relievers. [[Mitch Moreland]] ([[Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball|Mississippi State]]), [[Ryan Rua]] ([[Lake Erie College]]), and [[J. D. Davis]], ([[Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball|Cal State Fullerton]]) all played as both position players and pitchers in their collegiate careers, with Rua and Davis both being closers for their college teams.

[[Cliff Pennington (baseball)|Cliff Pennington]] became the first position player in Major League Baseball history to pitch in a postseason game, which was during Game 4 of the [[2015 American League Championship Series]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sbnation.com/2015/10/20/9579101/blue-jays-cliff-pennington-first-position-player-to-pitch|title=Blue Jays' Cliff Pennington becomes first position player to pitch in the postseason|first=Grant|last=Brisbee|work=[[SB Nation]]|date=October 20, 2015|access-date=October 21, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2015/10/21/cliff-pennington-pitched-in-an-alcs-game-because-the-royals-are-a-storm/|title=Cliff Pennington pitched in an ALCS game because the Royals are a storm|first=Adam|last=Kilgore|date=October 21, 2015|via=www.washingtonpost.com}}</ref> The second position player to pitch in the playoffs was [[Austin Romine]] during Game 3 of the [[2018 American League Division Series]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/oct/09/new-york-yankees-boston-red-sox-record-playoff-defeat|title=Red Sox inflict record playoff defeat on shellshocked Yankees|website=[[TheGuardian.com]]|date=October 9, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2018/10/9/17954120/yankees-red-sox-game-3-aaron-boone-severino-lynn-green|title = Aaron Boone's Game 3 Pitching Calls Were Confounding|date = October 9, 2018}}</ref>

Starting in {{mlby|2023}}, MLB position players are allowed to pitch in a game under the following conditions:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35652660/source-extra-inning-extra-runner-rule-remain |title=Source: Extra-inning, extra-runner rule to remain |first=Jesse |last=Rogers |website=ESPN.com |date=February 13, 2023 |access-date=February 13, 2023}}</ref>
*The leading team can only use a position player in this role in the ninth inning, and with a lead of at least 10 runs.
*A team behind by eight or more runs can use a position player to pitch at any time in the game.
*The use of position players as pitchers in extra innings is unrestricted.