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.
The business model hasn’t changed. They still have a soft cap, which thus means if they decide to pay the player X they just go ahead and do so. All the soft cap does is add a hidden cost, that if they pay that player X it will actually ding their bank account X+Y%, but they’re still free to pay the player X. Hard caps change the business model, in a hard capped league (NFL, NHL) if they want to pay the player X and that will put them over the cap they have the choice talking that player down, or getting rid of other good players.
The point of a cap is to make is so the richest teams don’t get to hoard the players with the highest perceived value. A soft cap doesn’t do that, all the soft cap does is make the richest teams spend a bit more, which isn’t really a problem for them, because they’re the richest teams. Which is why the soft cap is just a suggestion, it has no actual meaning, it makes no change to the business function.
The Yankees are NOT trying to get under the cap. They’re dumping antique players that should have retired years ago. It’s a side effect that they’ll also get under the cap for a few months, but not the goal. They’re chasing no free agents because they already have too many over aged formerly talented players. They need roster room for youth.
The MLB cap is a joke. Period. Sorry you can’t see it. Have fun.