When Aroldis Chapman was shipped to the Cubs last Monday, it was framed by the Yankees as purely a business decision– buying low and then ultimately selling high on an expiring contract. The decisions to trade Andrew Miller on Sunday and Carlos Beltran on Monday were much more significant.
Gone are the days when having deeper pockets than your competition loomed as the game’s biggest advantage. A punitive luxury tax, revenue sharing, a stricter draft slotting system, and modifications to international free agency are just some of the measures Major League Baseball took to level the playing field.