How to Turn Off Auto-Shift on Defense in MLB The Show 25

In real-life baseball, the defensive shift is one of the best strategies for forcing outs against pull hitters from either side of the plate. In MLB The Show 25, however, the shift is a bit of a mixed bag.

In terms of playing against the CPU, the shift is probably just as effective as it is in real life. However, when it comes to playing online, it doesn’t seem to be nearly as useful as human players are focused on perfectly timing their hits. Therefore, even when an in-game player has an extreme pull tendency, it’s of little importance when the online player controlling them is perfectly timing their swings. This leads to many situations where, instead of the shift working exactly as planned, a routine groundout becomes a base hit.

MLB The Show 25 has the defensive shift turned on by default, which applies to all modes of the game. So, how do you turn it off? And when is it appropriate to manually go into a shift?

Turning Off Auto-Shift In MLB The Show 25

Turning off the auto-shift in MLB The Show 25 is simple and can be done at any time, even mid-game. To turn off the auto-shift, do the following:

• Go to Settings. When on the main menu, the settings option is represented by a gear cog in the upper-righthand part of the screen.
• Select Gameplay
• Tab over to General
• Scroll down until you see the Decisions area. Within it, there is an option called Auto Defensive Shift. Toggle it off.

Though players will be able to turn off the auto-shift while in the middle of an online game, I’ve noticed that doing this doesn’t carry over to subsequent games you play. That said, it’s highly recommended you turn off the auto-shift when you are on the main menu.

When Is It Appropriate To Do A Shift In MLB The Show 25

In my personal experience, it is rarely worth it to go into a defensive over-shift when playing online in MLB The Show 25. Yeah, you will occasionally get an easy out from a ball smacked up the middle. But more often than not, you’ll concede cheap hits. In terms of shifting your defense manually, I’ve only found two to be useful.

One is bringing the infield in late in the game. Say it’s a tie game, you’re in the 9th inning, you have one or fewer outs, and your opponent has a runner on third. If you allow the runner on third to cross the plate, the game is over. At this point, you should bring your infield in to ensure it has a chance to throw the runner out at home should they attempt to advance on a ground ball.

The other time I find the shift to be worth it is when going into double-play depth. The twin-killer is a pitcher’s best friend, so it’s best to set your defense up for it when your opponent has a runner on first base with one out or less.

Here’s how to manually do a shift in-game, press Down on your D-pad. There, you will find whatever option you need.