I think I understand the first part now, but not the second. If someone claims Soriano-and the Nats want more in a trade offer then the claiming team is willing to give, the Nats are left with 2 choices: pull him back, or let him go. If they let him go, then that team wouldn't have to send any players for Soriano. All they have to do is pay for Soriano, and I'm sure any team in the race would easily pay 2.5 million for Soriano for a month if that's all they had to give up. If the Nats pull him back, then the claiming team doesn't lose anything either. The only way the claiming team would trade players is if they agreed to a trade with the Nats during that negotiation period, and of course then the risk would be in the trade, not the claim. The difference here is that the Nats are not letting Soriano go for just a waiver fee and the rest of his salary. They are either going to trade him or pull him back. So in this case, there is no risk for any team that claims him. If the Nationals aren't just going to let him go for his salary and a waiver fee, that means some other team has to trade for him. If they don't want to trade for him, they obviously aren't going to get him. Hence, no risk in this situation. Even if the Nationals would consider letting him go for the rest of his contract and a waiver fee, a team is still not at risk of losing any of it's players. You know that when you make a waiver claim that you are likely going to have to assume that player's salary. But whether or not a team loses a player or two in the deal is up to that team.