Jorge Soler: Yankees' Inability to Sign Cuban Prospect Shows Power of New CBA

The new collective bargaining agreement has paved the way for a more even MLB playing field, and that was evident when the New York Yankees lost the bidding war for top Cuban prospect Jorge Soler to the Chicago Cubs on Monday.

It used to be that the Yankees could wait for high-priced prospects to slide in the draft, then give them what they wanted. It allowed the Yankees to still get top prospects later, while the less wealthy and small-market teams missed out.

Not anymore. The new CBA actually takes draft picks away from teams if they do this now.

Fast forward to the Yankees in 2014. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweeted on Sunday:

"

$189 million luxury tax threshold for '14. Hard to keep Grandy/Cano in that budget, unless save some $$$ elsewhere. #Yankees

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) June 10, 2012"

The Yankees are not only looking to re-sign Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano, they also have $73.5 million committed to Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira in 2014, per Howard Megdal of Capital New York.

That is why the Yankees opted not to sign Soler to what would have been a relatively inexpensive contract. The Cubs won the bidding war by offering Soler $30 million over nine years, a little over $3 million per season, but the Yankees were bound by the new CBA.

This demonstrates the power of the new CBA. We have finally gotten to a point in baseball where the more wealthy teams are legitimately constricted from doing whatever they want. Bad news for the Yankees, great news for the sport of baseball.

The Cubs, mired in over 100 years of disappointment and in the middle of the pack in terms of total payroll for 2012, just beat out the Yankees, who have the highest payroll in the league. And it's not like Soler is some average prospect—his exceptional power could see him develop into a fearsome cleanup hitter down the line.

Baseball's collective bargaining agreement finally means something, and it stands to make for a better game overall moving forward.

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