The overriding sentiment, though, was that the competitive imbalance problem should be addressed with many potential solutions, not one magic bullet. The draft is just one part of addressing the problem. It makes sense because the real currency of baseball is talent, not dollars. Forking over money to the Twins and Expos isn't enough, especially when they're using chunks of that money for operating income, and not payroll. If they're smart enough to find the next Vinny Castilla, Tony Batista or Trevor Hoffman, all of whom were plucked from expansion drafts, more power to them.
Nobody screams about that.
The competitive balance draft has the same theory in mind. The draft also would provoke more trades. The Yankees, for instance, have a backlog of promising shortstops in their system behind Derek Jeter. Instead of losing one of them in a draft, they might be inclined to trade one of those prospects and get something in return as a preemptive strike. Finally, the draft gives the lesser teams an arena in which to generate interest in the offseason, something they don't have now.