Are people really foolish enough to think the Pirates trading away their 6 best will help them compete?

I think that both of your suggestions would work. Implement a cap and contraction to bring both leagues back to 14 teams. You could move the Florida teams to markets that would support them and eliminate badly run franchises such as the current regimes in Pittsburgh and San Diego. Breaking a team up because the owner is going through a nasty divorce is ridiculous and MLB should have stepped in. I'm sure fans in either of those cities would be willing to come out in support of the Rays or Marlins.