Major League Baseball "informed owners this week of [the] severity of [the] issue with pitchers applying foreign substances to baseballs," according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Per that report, "enforcement is coming," though the league will be further communicating with both the players' and umpires' unions about the issue.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported earlier Thursday that MLB owners met to discuss the issue and reportedly came up with three points of focus:

"Any chance we get to equal the playing ground is what's necessary," White Sox closer Liam Hendriks told reporters Thursday. "As long as it's even across the field. That's all that I ask for. ... We need to make sure that we govern it."

Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos told Chris Rose on Thursday he didn't think Major League Baseball particularly cared about the issue (h/t Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer):

Pitchers have argued that some outside substances can help them better control their pitches, making it less likely they'll accidentally hit a batter. The counterargument is that substances allow pitchers to increase their spin rate, which in turn makes those pitches harder to hit (breaking balls gain more movement, for instance).

It sounds as though the league agrees with the second argument and, contrary to Castellanos' viewpoint, does in fact care about the issue. Just how seriously any potential rules are enforced remains to be seen.