diff --git a/llp/0199-maintenance-compaction-convergence.decision.md b/llp/0199-maintenance-compaction-convergence.decision.md
index a0232ef9..606b4240 100644
--- a/llp/0199-maintenance-compaction-convergence.decision.md
+++ b/llp/0199-maintenance-compaction-convergence.decision.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 **Author:** Kenny / Claude
 **Date:** 2026-08-07
 **Related:** LLP 0027
-**Extended-by:** LLP 0207
+**Extended-by:** [LLP 0207](./0207-foreign-sorted-replace-convergence.decision.md) (a second convergence source: a foreign sorted `replace` re-baselines the gate instead of triggering a rewrite)
 
 > Maintenance stops re-flagging already-compacted partitions: a partition is
 > only compaction-due when its live data-file count has moved off the count
diff --git a/src/core/cache/maintenance.js b/src/core/cache/maintenance.js
index f1d97137..7080c0fe 100644
--- a/src/core/cache/maintenance.js
+++ b/src/core/cache/maintenance.js
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ import {
   loadLatestFileCatalogMetadata,
 } from 'icebird'
 
-import { Attr, getMeter, withSpan } from '../observability/index.js'
+import { Attr, getActiveSpan, getMeter, withSpan } from '../observability/index.js'
 import { inferColumnType } from './migrate.js'
 import { discoverCachePartitions, readCursorSync, tryReadCursorSync, writeCursor } from './partition.js'
 import { datasetsRoot } from './paths.js'
@@ -117,6 +117,7 @@ export async function maintainCache(opts) {
   const reports = []
   let totalSnapshotsExpired = 0
   let totalCompacted = 0
+  let totalRebaselined = 0
 
   for (const part of partitions) {
     // Always work one partition before the budget can cut the tick short:
@@ -157,6 +158,7 @@ export async function maintainCache(opts) {
     reports.push(report)
     totalSnapshotsExpired += report.snapshotsExpired
     if (report.compacted) totalCompacted++
+    if (report.rebaselined) totalRebaselined++
   }
 
   if (!opts.dryRun) {
@@ -167,6 +169,7 @@ export async function maintainCache(opts) {
     partitions: reports,
     totalSnapshotsExpired,
     totalCompacted,
+    totalRebaselined,
     dryRun: opts.dryRun ?? false,
     elapsedMs: Date.now() - startMs,
   }
@@ -275,6 +278,13 @@ async function maintainGeneration(r, cursor, cfg, opts, settle, snapshotsExpired
     // compact_avg_file_bytes), and the tick budget is burned rewriting the
     // same partitions while the rest of the walk starves.
     const grewSinceCompaction = dataFilesBefore !== resettleBaselineFiles(cursor)
+    // Cheap dueness check first: file-count and byte-size heuristics only,
+    // no metadata load and no row scan. A foreign sorted replace almost
+    // always lands here (its baseline mismatch alone doesn't imply the
+    // size heuristics fire), so gating the expensive re-settle scan behind
+    // this check means the common "recognized, nothing to scan for" tick
+    // never pays for one.
+    const compactionDue = opts.force || (grewSinceCompaction && needsCompaction(liveDir, cfg))
     // @ref LLP 0027#re-settle-sweep: a partition holding a committed
     // fallback row may carry a split twin pair the flush-time settle
     // never collapsed; force a rewrite so the sweep can re-settle it even
@@ -283,10 +293,15 @@ async function maintainGeneration(r, cursor, cfg, opts, settle, snapshotsExpired
     // line never lands (harness aux, wire-only reminders) - from forcing a
     // full rewrite every tick, and skips the attributes scan entirely when
     // nothing new has flushed.
-    const hasResettle = settle
+    // @ref LLP 0207#outranks-resettle [constrained-by]: when the cheap check
+    // above already made compaction due, the scan's answer can never
+    // change the outcome (recognition, tested below, still outranks it),
+    // so skip it: only run the scan when it might be the sole reason to
+    // compact.
+    const hasResettle = !compactionDue && settle
       ? grewSinceCompaction && await hasResettleCandidate(liveDir)
       : false
-    const shouldCompact = opts.force || hasResettle || (grewSinceCompaction && needsCompaction(liveDir, cfg))
+    const shouldCompact = compactionDue || hasResettle
     if (shouldCompact) {
       const tableInfo = await loadCompactionTableInfo(liveDir)
       // @ref LLP 0207#foreign-replace [implements]: a baseline mismatch whose
@@ -299,6 +314,11 @@ async function maintainGeneration(r, cursor, cfg, opts, settle, snapshotsExpired
       // the sorted layout every night. An explicit --force still rewrites.
       if (!opts.force && foreignSortedReplace(tableInfo)) {
         r.rebaselined = true
+        // The counter proves a rebaseline happened at all, but it carries
+        // only the dataset; tagging the enclosing maintenance.partition span
+        // names the partition, so a trace query finds which day re-baselined
+        // without cross-referencing the counter.
+        getActiveSpan()?.setAttribute('rebaselined', true)
         if (!opts.dryRun) {
           await writeCursor(r.path, rebaselineCursor(cursor, dataFilesBefore))
           rebaselinesCounter.add(1, { [Attr.DATASET]: r.dataset })
diff --git a/src/core/cache/types.d.ts b/src/core/cache/types.d.ts
index 45084d72..00d529d6 100644
--- a/src/core/cache/types.d.ts
+++ b/src/core/cache/types.d.ts
@@ -232,6 +232,7 @@ export interface MaintenanceReport {
   partitions: MaintenancePartitionReport[]
   totalSnapshotsExpired: number
   totalCompacted: number
+  totalRebaselined: number
   dryRun: boolean
   elapsedMs: number
 }
diff --git a/src/core/commands/query.js b/src/core/commands/query.js
index 1cfac29d..b22afa21 100644
--- a/src/core/commands/query.js
+++ b/src/core/commands/query.js
@@ -327,8 +327,7 @@ export async function runQueryMaintain(argv, ctx) {
       ctx.stdout.write(`  ${label}: ${actions.join(', ')}\n`)
     }
   }
-  const rebaselined = report.partitions.filter((p) => p.rebaselined).length
-  const rebaselineNote = rebaselined > 0 ? `, ${rebaselined} rebaselined` : ''
+  const rebaselineNote = report.totalRebaselined > 0 ? `, ${report.totalRebaselined} rebaselined` : ''
   ctx.stdout.write(`maintenance: ${report.totalSnapshotsExpired} snapshots expired, ${report.totalCompacted} partitions compacted${rebaselineNote} (${report.elapsedMs}ms)\n`)
   return 0
 }
diff --git a/test/core/cache-retention-maintenance.test.js b/test/core/cache-retention-maintenance.test.js
index c8947519..9b45b1a0 100644
--- a/test/core/cache-retention-maintenance.test.js
+++ b/test/core/cache-retention-maintenance.test.js
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 import test from 'node:test'
 import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
 import fs from 'node:fs/promises'
+import fsSync from 'node:fs'
 import os from 'node:os'
 import path from 'node:path'
 
@@ -11,11 +12,13 @@ import { maintainCache, cacheStatus, normalizeMaintenanceConfig } from '../../sr
 import { appendRowsToSourceTable, readCursorSync, writeCursor } from '../../src/core/cache/partition.js'
 import { appendRowsToTable, currentPartitionSpec, currentSchema, readRowsFromTable, sortColumnsFromMetadata, tableExists } from '../../src/core/cache/iceberg/store.js'
 import { createLocalIcebergIO, tableUrlForDir } from '../../src/core/cache/iceberg/resolver.js'
+import { TracerProvider } from '../../src/core/observability/runtime.js'
 import { fileCatalog, icebergRewrite, loadLatestFileCatalogMetadata } from 'icebird'
 
 /**
  * @import { ColumnSpec } from '../../hypaware-plugin-kernel-types.js'
  * @import { CachePartitioningDeclaration } from '../../src/core/cache/types.js'
+ * @import { Span } from '../../src/core/observability/runtime.js'
  */
 
 /** @param {string} prefix */
@@ -853,6 +856,7 @@ test('a foreign sorted replace re-baselines the cursor instead of being rewritte
     // A dry run predicts the recognition without writing anything.
     const preview = await maintainCache({ cacheRoot, compactOnly: true, dryRun: true })
     assert.equal(preview.totalCompacted, 0)
+    assert.equal(preview.totalRebaselined, 1, 'the report-level rebaseline count mirrors totalCompacted')
     assert.equal(preview.partitions[0].rebaselined, true)
     assert.equal(
       /** @type {{ resettleBaselineFiles: number }} */ (readCursorSync(partDir).compaction).resettleBaselineFiles,
@@ -862,6 +866,7 @@ test('a foreign sorted replace re-baselines the cursor instead of being rewritte
 
     const first = await maintainCache({ cacheRoot, compactOnly: true })
     assert.equal(first.totalCompacted, 0)
+    assert.equal(first.totalRebaselined, 1, 're-baselining one partition must be reflected in the report total')
     assert.equal(first.partitions[0].rebaselined, true)
     const cursor = readCursorSync(partDir)
     assert.equal(cursor.epoch, 0, 'no rewrite: the generation must not advance')
@@ -873,6 +878,7 @@ test('a foreign sorted replace re-baselines the cursor instead of being rewritte
     // Converged: the baseline gate now blocks before any metadata load.
     const second = await maintainCache({ cacheRoot, compactOnly: true })
     assert.equal(second.totalCompacted, 0)
+    assert.equal(second.totalRebaselined, 0, 'converged: no rebaseline happened this tick')
     assert.notEqual(second.partitions[0].rebaselined, true)
 
     // A late append flips the current snapshot off `replace` and moves the
@@ -998,6 +1004,128 @@ test('force still rewrites a foreign sorted replace', async () => {
   }
 })
 
+test('a foreign sorted replace tags the maintenance.partition span with rebaselined', async () => {
+  const cacheRoot = await makeTmpDir('maint-foreign-span')
+  /** @type {Span[]} */
+  const captured = []
+  const provider = new TracerProvider({
+    resource: { attributes: {} },
+    exporters: [{ exportBatch(/** @type {Span[]} */ spans) { captured.push(...spans) } }],
+  })
+  provider.register()
+  try {
+    const partDir = path.join(cacheRoot, 'datasets', 'ds1', 'date=2026-08-08')
+    const epoch0 = path.join(partDir, 'epoch=0')
+    for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
+      await appendRowsToTable(epoch0, COLUMNS, [
+        { id: i, value: `v${i}`, timestamp: new Date().toISOString() },
+      ], { sortOrder: [{ column: 'id', direction: 'asc' }] })
+    }
+    await commitForeignReplace(epoch0)
+    await writeCursor(partDir, {
+      epoch: 0,
+      rowCount: 3,
+      layout: 'epoch',
+      compaction: { compactedAt: '2026-08-08T00:00:00.000Z', resettleBaselineFiles: 99 },
+    })
+
+    const report = await maintainCache({ cacheRoot, compactOnly: true })
+    assert.equal(report.partitions[0].rebaselined, true, 'sanity: this tick recognized the foreign replace')
+
+    const partitionSpan = captured.find((span) => span.name === 'maintenance.partition')
+    assert.ok(partitionSpan, 'maintenance.partition span must be exported')
+    assert.equal(
+      partitionSpan?.attributes.rebaselined,
+      true,
+      'the span, not just the hyp_rebaselines counter, must name which partition re-baselined'
+    )
+  } finally {
+    await provider.shutdown()
+    await fs.rm(cacheRoot, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  }
+})
+
+test('a partition already due for compaction skips the resettle-candidate row scan', async (t) => {
+  // @ref LLP 0207#outranks-resettle [tests]: once the cheap file-count/size
+  // check alone makes compaction due, the resettle scan's answer cannot
+  // change `shouldCompact`, so it must not run at all. `hasResettleCandidate`
+  // is module-private and its `scanRowsFromTable` is an unpatchable ESM named
+  // import, so there is no direct call-count hook to assert against; instead
+  // this mocks `readFileSync` and captures a stack trace per `.parquet` read,
+  // then asserts none of those stacks pass through `hasResettleCandidate`.
+  // That frame name survives the async boundary between the scan and the
+  // read, so it attributes each read to its caller instead of only counting
+  // reads tick-wide (a second legitimate read elsewhere in the tick, e.g. a
+  // footer-stats probe, would not falsely implicate the scan).
+  //
+  // A stack-based observation can go blind: the deciding frame sits ~8 frames
+  // below the mock, and V8's default `Error.stackTraceLimit` of 10 leaves only
+  // two frames of headroom. Three more frames anywhere between the mock and
+  // the caller (an icebird refactor, extra node:test mock internals, a wrapper
+  // in `resolver.js`) would drop it, and a negative "no stack mentions
+  // `hasResettleCandidate`" assertion passes vacuously on truncated stacks.
+  // Two guards keep that from happening silently:
+  //   1. raise `Error.stackTraceLimit` while the mock is installed (restored
+  //      below even if the test throws), which removes the hazard outright;
+  //   2. assert positively that some stack names `compactGeneration`, the
+  //      legitimate reader. It calls `scanRowsFromTable` from exactly the same
+  //      depth as `hasResettleCandidate` does, so any truncation deep enough
+  //      to hide the frame the negative assertion hunts for also hides this
+  //      one, and the test fails loudly instead of going quiet. Asserting on
+  //      `scanRowsFromTable` itself would not do: it sits one frame shallower
+  //      and survives truncation that has already blinded the real check.
+  // Guard 2 also catches the `?? ''` fallback below storing an unattributable
+  // empty string.
+  const cacheRoot = await makeTmpDir('maint-scan-skip')
+  const originalStackTraceLimit = Error.stackTraceLimit
+  try {
+    const partDir = path.join(cacheRoot, 'datasets', 'ds1', 'date=2026-08-08')
+    const epoch0 = path.join(partDir, 'epoch=0')
+    await appendRowsToTable(epoch0, COLUMNS, [
+      { id: 1, value: 'v1', timestamp: new Date().toISOString() },
+    ])
+    // Never compacted: `grewSinceCompaction` is true unconditionally, so the
+    // only thing standing between the old code and a resettle scan is the
+    // `compactionDue` gate under test.
+    await writeCursor(partDir, { epoch: 0, rowCount: 1, compaction: null, layout: 'epoch' })
+
+    /** @type {string[]} */
+    const stacks = []
+    const original = fsSync.readFileSync
+    Error.stackTraceLimit = 50
+    t.mock.method(fsSync, 'readFileSync', function (p, ...rest) {
+      if (String(p).endsWith('.parquet')) stacks.push(new Error().stack ?? '')
+      return original.call(this, p, ...rest)
+    })
+
+    const report = await maintainCache({
+      cacheRoot,
+      compactOnly: true,
+      // compact_file_count: 0 makes `needsCompaction` (and so
+      // `compactionDue`) true on file count alone, with no size heuristic
+      // involved: dueness is settled before the resettle scan would run.
+      config: { compact_file_count: 0 },
+      storage: /** @type {any} */ ({}),
+      getSettleHook: () => async (rows) => rows,
+    })
+    assert.equal(report.totalCompacted, 1, 'sanity: compaction actually ran')
+
+    assert.ok(stacks.length > 0, 'sanity: the data file was read at all')
+    assert.ok(
+      stacks.some((s) => s.includes('compactGeneration')),
+      'sanity: captured stacks must be deep enough to name the reader, or the assertion below passes vacuously'
+    )
+    assert.deepEqual(
+      stacks.filter((s) => s.includes('hasResettleCandidate')),
+      [],
+      'the resettle scan must not read the data file'
+    )
+  } finally {
+    Error.stackTraceLimit = originalStackTraceLimit
+    await fs.rm(cacheRoot, { recursive: true, force: true })
+  }
+})
+
 test('maintenance walks partitions neediest-first, not directory order', async () => {
   const cacheRoot = await makeTmpDir('maint-order')
   try {