I didn't say they did bring in Walter as trade bait, merely that he might end up trade bait.
In any case, there's one big question that needs to be answered before we can draw any conclusions: How big is the contract Walter signed? There's a big difference between even a one-year vet min contract and, say, a two-year contract.
Also—and I'm not directing this specifically at you—we've had BB issue rather effusive praise for Ventrone recently, and a lot of people expect him to get cut, too. [Yes, I realize the situations are not entirely analogous; that said, O'Connell does have a year in the system, so if, God forbid, BB had to have either O'Connell or Walter starting, I don't think it'd be that easy a decision.]