I think the Yankees are just saying this now so MLB will step in and stop a team from doing what that Cubs were smart enough to pull off last year. They are just upset that they didn't think of it first and think that if it is eliminated players will want to sign with the Yankees because they have a great history of paying high salaries.

An international draft is definitely the way to go. In the short term, were does the money from the luxury tax go? If it is distributed to the other teams, then I say let the stupid Yankees overpay and give us more money to be more competitive. I don't think any team owns international markets per se, I have been happy with how the Twins have scouted and signed a number of young guys over the past several years. But again, a draft needs to be in place at some point.

Significantly going over the cap also results in being only able to sign players for a limited amount the following year., 250000 or 500000 depending on how much you go over. If you like enough players one year and figure on trading your cap money the following year it would make sense to go over. If you figure they are going to change the rules again, it would make sense to go over if money is not a limiting factor.

It was not so much that the Yankees were planning on going over, it was the amount over(in the range of 12 -15 million over their 2-2.5 million cap. It could also be they are planning on using this to restock their farm system which is weak. I do not know what would be available to the Yankees on this plan(if there are several very interesting players they feel it would be worthwhile to sign). Or if this is designed to force a rule change. They watched the Cubs spend double there allotment this year and net two of the top 5 players and 2 others in the top 30. The money the Yankees are quoted as their budget would allow them to sign almost if not all of the top 30 players eligible this year in the market. Not all would make it, it would just give the Yankees a competitive edge for one year in this market. But if the Yankees were able to use this strategy every other year, maybe they figure that agents and friends would hold back players until the Yankees could be players. Do not know the answer, it is just another way of a big market team using the system to their advantage. It is also why most other sports either have hard caps or weighted caps and drafts.

What is the success rate of top 5 16 year old prospects versus top 50 versus the field?