Of course contraction is stopping trading now: WHY TRADE FOR A NEED NOW WHEN YOU MAY GET IT FOR FREE IN THE CONTRACTION DRAFT ???

Any rational manager is going to wait and see if that 4th starter or 2B will be available in the contraction draft before they trade something of value for them. What do you mean when you say

"If made with fairly equal PB values, won't affect contraction at all."

The PB cap is, and should be, a next year idea. Who cares if the PB values are even ?