Tracy Ringolsby points out that Bud Selig may void some draft deals:

Teams set the stage so that virtually no drafted player will sign a contract before the Aug. 15 signing deadline next year, figuring if they wait, the teams will blink.

Commissioner Bud Selig has some avenues to discipline teams. He has discretion on joint money received from marketing, radio and television. He also can take a hard line on the legality of contracts players signed and void any prearranged deals.

A prime example would be left-handed pitcher Casey Crosby of Maple Park, Ill., a fifth-round draft choice of Detroit. He was quoted in newspaper accounts at the time of the draft saying he had a deal for $750,000 but would have to wait until Aug. 15 because it was higher than the $150,000 slot money. He signed this week for $748,000.

Baseball continues its history of trying to contain costs by overtly screwing the players. Baseball should abolish the draft and the minor league reserve system. If the majors want to control the costs of players coming into the system, the best way to do that is to make the supply of players as large as possible. How do you do that?

• No draft. Force US players to compete with Latin American players for jobs in the US. Right now, the draft makes the supply to each team tiny. With all amateurs free agents, if a prospect wants to go to college, it's, "See you later, call us if you change your mind," and on to someone else, even someone from outside the country who is will to work for a lot less.
• All minor league players become free agents at the end of their contracts. This is basically what Charlie Finley wanted to do in the mid 1970s with major league players, but the owners wouldn't hear of it. Marvin Miller was very afraid of this idea, because the huge supply of players every year would keep free agent salaries low. So, with the majority of minor leaguers becoming free agents every year (I assume top prospects would get major league contracts, or at least long term minor league contracts), and amateur players competing with established minor leaguers, prices for new players will again be dampened.

The argument against this will be the rich teams will get richer. Fine. But when has any rule implemented to try to stop rich teams from acquiring the best talent ever worked? The draft had some short term success, but once those players picked up agents and learned the could get more money by threatening not to sign, they started falling in the draft and rich teams got them anyway. By constantly shuffling the minors by making the number of players available to teams large every year, my at least other teams have a shot at getting good talent into the system.