Does anyone think that when the CBA expires, a big sticking point is going to be shortening the period of team control? Until a few years ago, it seems that players tolerated a certain period of team control because of the expectation that they could make money on the back-end. Jose Bautista, when he more or less said there was an expectation to be paid based on past performance, was only saying what many players believed. But more and more, these players are not getting the payday in their 30s. So players are likely to push for shorter team control and/or changes to arbitration to get those paydays in the late 20s/early 30s.
One of owenership's biggest arguments in favor of team control is that they bear the cost of player development. Is it possible that this move to shrink MiLB, as well as get more cooperation with the NCAA, is a way to preemptively cut these development costs prior to the CBA renegotiation?