Doesn't the example you raised earlier of Blackburn counteract this concern? If you find you have an excess resource, you pick the one performing most poorly, try to trade him, then waive/DFA him and hope someone picks up the contract, and at worst you have waivers and you just demote him to AAA and eat the contract and keep him stashed for an emergency. If the Twins were strapped for cash, it would be different. But how did Nick Blackburn's contract impede anything the past two years, or how would (pick a name, let's say Hughes)'s untradeable contract for 3 years impede the rebuild now?