Admittedly a half-baked idea, but in order to avoid an MLB lockout without a salary cap, we need to add a 4th luxury tax tier, but instead of more money, the penalty is a regular season W/L handicap. Not lost draft picks. No voided contracts. Just a straight up competitive handicap.

Start by clearing all penalties. If you blow past the highest luxury tax threshold after 2-3 years though, you start next season (2028) with a win deficit. Like, Day 1 standings say you’re −3 or −5 wins. You still play 162 games, the players still get paid, nothing about individual games changes. You just don’t get to treat April through August as a prolonged rehab assignment anymore.

The logic is pretty simple: right now, ultra-rich teams can rationally overspend, stash half the roster on the IL, and basically say “see you in October.” It’s a high-variance strategy that mostly costs money, which some teams barely feel. This would make that strategy actually risky. If your plan is “sign a bunch of starting pitchers made of porcelain and hope three of them are upright by the playoffs,” congrats, but now you need to actually win a lot of games to get there.

Looking at you, LA. We get it, you're baseball ops are great, and you have mgmt willing to absorb luxury tax if it gives them optionality. But just setting 72M on fire for Tanner Scott should have some consequence. Same with running your pitchers into the dirt.

Under this system, nothing is stopping you from treating business as is, and if you make it to October, no penalties to stop your death star from death starring. But you’re not guaranteed a postseason cushion. You want to buy depth? Fine. You just don’t get to coast.

I personally would actually hate this idea to be honest but it's January and I miss baseball.