I don't see the PED use as really an issue with Braun. If it's a character flaw, it's one shared with a lot of other players. If the flaw is getting caught, well, that's different.
What is a character issue was his attempt to throw some poor low-paid employee of the testing service under the bus. That was truly bush-league. And yes, that contributes to my disinterest in him.
But that said, Braun's 32, and under contract for five years. It doesn't make much sense for a rebuilding club to acquire a player such as that - and this is compounded by the Rule 5 issue that's coming down the pike in November. It's pretty clear that Klentak doesn't want to add contracts that he's going to have to carry this winter, because he already has a problem with roster spaces for prospects who will not survive the Rule 5 draft if they're not added to the 40-man roster. Adding a player like Braun doesn't just cost whatever prospect(s) go to the Brewers in trade; it also costs whatever player is lost the first week of December in the Rule 5 draft, because the Braun-type was tying up a roster slot.
I'd be OK tying up a roster spot for five years, if the player were top quality, and 25 or 26 years old; we can build around that. But Braun will decline; he's already declined from his peak: look at his stats, and don't be fooled by one month in April this year - he'll not likely ever return to the 150 OPS+ level on a seasonal basis. He's very likely to continue to decline, and a precipitous drop somewhere between here and 2020 would not be surprising or unusual. I don't want to trade a prospect (or more than one), and increase our Rule 5 risk, for that.
