Major League Baseball could introduce robot umpires from 2026, set to test system next year

There could reportedly be robot umpires in the Major League Baseball (MLB) tournament in the United States from the 2026 regular season. According to a report in CNN, the MLB plans to test an Automated Ball Strike (ABS) challenge system at 13 ballparks which will host 19 MLB teams in 2025, during Spring training.

“I think we will have a Spring training ABS test that will provide a meaningful opportunity for all Major League players to see what the challenge system will look like,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told CNN.

“It won’t be in every single ballpark, but we actually have a plan where every team will get meaningful exposure to that," he added.

Manfred further stated that talks between MLB and the MLB Umpires Association with regards to the new technology are ongoing. A per a report in the Associated Press, the MLB Umpires’ Association’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire on 1 December.

“We do have a collective bargaining obligation there. That’s obviously a term and condition of employment. We’re going to have to work through that issue, as well,” he said.

Under the new system, human umpires will continue calling balls and strikes, but teams which have limited number of challenges can use the robot umpires. According to CNN, the ABS technology utilises Hawk-Eye cameras “to track the location of each pitch in relation to the strike zone.”

Since 2022, the ABS challenge system has featured in Triple-A baseball, which is a Minor League Baseball competition. The technology was also used during the MLB All-Star Futures Game for the second year running in July 2024.