The way that Major League Baseball teams treat free agency has undoubtedly changed in the past two years. Many “rebuilding” clubs would rather fill out their skeleton rosters with Four-A players making the league minimum instead mixing in a short-term veteran player here or there, because why spend any more money than necessary when “wins don’t matter?” The luxury tax threshold has become a de facto salary cap for large market teams, giving front offices in places like Boston, Atlanta, and Los Angeles an excuse to tell their fans that they need to pursue “financial flexibility” in much the same fashion that small-market clubs like Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay profess to their fanbases.
“The chips are all in now” says the owner of the Milwaukee Brewers
