The only way to end tanking in baseball is to fire a bunch of owners. There’s just way too many in the sport that don’t care what they put on the field, so long as it makes money.
The Big 5 markets simply raid the small market teams when these rookie contracts expire. Pittburgh has been following the “Build thru the Farm System” strategy for quite some time. It’s to the point where the Pirates can only usually afford to re-sign a player every few years, and the rest leave or get traded while they still have time on their deals. Lot of ex-Pirates in the Big Leagues. But the only way the Pirates will ever win a pennant is if the get a cohort of young players that all gel early. That’s like waiting for the perfect wave.