The sleeve had been given provisional approval by the committee last year, but these are the first full consents for use of wearable technology. The committee includes Atlanta's John Schuerholz, Cleveland's Chris Antonetti, St. Louis' John Mozeliak, Minnesota's Terry Ryan and others.
Motus chief executive officer Joe Nolan hopes the company's product will be used "to better understand pitching injuries and to eventually predict and prevent them."
"Motus and MLB have the same goal, keeping players healthy and on the field," he said.
Data from the devices cannot be transmitted during games but must been downloaded afterward. The iPads MLB approved for use by teams do not have Bluetooth wireless technology and no other electronic equipment is allowed in dugouts during games.
Clubs may use the data only for internal purposes, and it will be shared with the player. It cannot be provided to broadcasters or used for commercial purposes.
Players can decide whether or not to use the technology and determine who can receive the data.
"Heart rate variability is an indicator of stress and can be used in developing post game recovery routines for high intensity players such as the starting pitcher rotations and catchers," said Steven Small, director of Zephyr performance systems.
The Major League Baseball Players Association, concerned about its member's rights, negotiated rules covering use of the technology. Veteran players could be reluctant to experiment with in-game use.
"The next thing you know, the pitcher's going to have a phone in his pocket taking selfies," New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner said.
New York Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek, an adviser to Motus, hopes the device can be used to help pitchers avoid Tommy John surgery and rehabilitate from the career-interrupting operation by monitoring valgus torque — stress on the elbow.
"Zack Wheeler, it's very hard to keep him below 85 percent now," Altchek said last month of the Mets pitcher who had Tommy John surgery last year. "Even though it's his first couple days off the mound, he just wants to bring it, and we don't want him to bring it. If we had an absolute measure of him, we could say ... dial it down."