Future MLB rule changes pose a distinct threat to the Yankees

The View from 314 Ft website has a nice rundown on MLB rule changes taking effect next year, with potential impacts on the Death Star. Nothing slaps us that won't hit everyone else, but two minor tweaks to the Matrix could alter Cooperstown Cashman's winter. 

First is the addition of a 26th man on the playing roster, with a limit to the number of pitchers, at 13. This means contenders can add, say, a late innings base-stealer or a third catcher. But tanking teams - (and these days, that can be a quarter of the franchises) - will have extra space to stash low-level minor leaguers who are picked in next month's Rule 5 draft. It's a rotten abuse of the system, so pungent that it will surely grow. As contenders with an especially deep farm system, the Yankees are sitting ducks.

In the next few weeks, Cashman will finalize his 40-man roster for the Rule 5 draft. Between now and then, expect him to flip players for obscure rookie league prospects, who don't need to be protected. In recent years, this has become a rite of November. This year, it could be especially heavy.

A second change requires relief pitchers next year to face at least three batters before being yanked (unless the inning changes or they are injured.) This would seemingly end the grand tradition of the LOOGY - the Lefty-Only bullpen slot. Over the years, that post has generally eluded Cashman. The last great Yankee LOOGY was Graham Lloyd, and if it seems like a millennium ago, it was. The closest we had last season was Tyler Lyons, now a free agent. In theory, this change won't hurt us. It could even help: Imagine Yankee Stadium erupting when a relief pitcher comes in, clearly rattled, and walks his first batter - with everyone knowing he cannot be pulled. Then again, imagine having to watch the bad-hair day Luis Cessa pitch to three batters... agony!

One other potential change needs our attention. MLB's contract with the players union ends in 2020, and early talks suggest a bloodbath. The union is muy pissed off at how the owners created a de facto payroll cap, via excessive luxury taxes. They won't get fooled again... maybe.

Baseball America reports that in MLB's early proposal, the owners want to scrap 42 minor league franchises nationwide. They would basically eliminate the lower tier of every farm system. It's surely just a bargaining chip, but such a change would permanently alter baseball's unique ties to pastoral landscapes and small town summer nights. Of course, why should the owners give a damn? Billionaires don't live in cow towns.

The gutting of farm systems would hurt the Yankees perhaps more than any other franchise. Today, with eight domestic teams, the Yankees have contractual space for 285 players. The MLB proposal would cut them to five teams and 150 players... just like everybody else. 

If there is hope for a Yankee resurgence, it would have to be in the depth of our system. If MLB chops it to bits, kiss the future goodbye. The Yankees will go the route of the Giants, Jets, Knicks, Nets, Rangers and everybody else. Playing in Gotham brings extra stresses, temptations, expenses, dangers and distractions - the kind you don't get in smaller markets. Thus, their teams actually have an advantage.

Rest assured, MLB is working tirelessly to turn the Yankees into the Kansas City Royals. I wonder if, someday, Food Stamps Hal Steinbrenner will wake up to find the value of his franchise just dropped by 20 percent. It seems impossible, doesn't it? Then again, we're living in a time when crazy shit is always right around the corner.