Of course the fact that we’re even having this discussion, and the discussion is how hard will the Yankees violate the cap not if, proves my original point. The MLB “cap” is at best a suggestion, and a complete joke.
As I said, their business model has changed. They might go back over as the salaries for their players “naturally” increase, but then, they might find a way to stay under, at least for a while.
The cap is more than a suggestion. That the Yankees, who have plenty of money, are working so hard to get under it (watch 2018) shows that. Right now, it’s biting them hard and restraining them. They’re in on NO free agents, not even modestly priced ones. That’s unlike their historical model.
The problem is that the small-market teams have become dependent on those Yankee revenue sharing checks, so if teh Yankees get under the cap (especially if they stay under it for a while), they’ll be complaining about that.