Players of Braun's caliber don't (generally) go unclaimed just because teams realize we'd pull him back, so I really don't think that's it. If they wanted him at that price, they'd still put in a claim which would give them exclusive negotiating rights for him. Whether or not they think we'd pull him back, a claim still allows that team the right to negotiate with us for Braun. I don't think the issue is the average yearly price of Braun's contract, it's the length. If Braun was just under contract through next year at 20M, or even just 2018, it probably wouldn't be a big issue. Through 2020 is a long commitment. Just because Braun's contract is a bargain now doesn't mean it'll be a bargain in 2 years. It might be, but that's a risk. It didn't look like a bargain to most a year ago. Also, the big spenders also have to contend with the luxury tax, as someone pointed out. Any contract the Dodgers take on will cost the Dodgers an extra 50%. So that 20M next year for Braun at full price will cost the Dodgers 30M, at which point it doesn't look like such a bargain anymore. So while that doesn't mean the Dodgers aren't interested in Braun, it's a plenty good enough reason for them not to claim him on waivers and risk 30M a year for a 32 year old. They'll no doubt be looking for some sort of salary relief in a deal (or return a big contract to us), which actually works out fine for us because it seems we are willing to offer some sort of salary relief in a trade for Braun to maximize the return.