How much light does it get? And what does the pot and soil look like? Good drainage? Josh

I think part of the problem is the lighting. When plants are grown in such a low-light situation, the new growth can be terribly tender and sappy and a sudden increase in light may cause drooping. I also think overwatering may still be adding to the plant being overly tender and an even further reduction to harden it up could be useful. Although your friend has repotted it, it's still sitting on a saucer with only a few small ridges between pot and base - so there is really not a lot of scope for "drainage" - if you could find something - even a few bottle caps - to place under the pot on the saucer - balancing the weight - to just raise it a little further I think that would be better. I don't see any problem with the ornamental rocks on top - mulching with any material is useful to avoid surface dryout esp in situation with air-con or heaters, and surface dryout can lead people to "assume" the rest of the soil is also dry. The plant looks good except for that concern of yours, and perhaps just rotating the pot to distribute the limited sun effect. It is perhaps just not enough light for the species to thrive

That is what I paid for last year, [smaller trees] for some pears and some where dead at arrival, nursery doesn't want to replace them until I make another order. The Baldwin looks fine,..just trim the dead side branch off and the top back to live wood. The other might shoot out from above the graft later in the season..wait and see,..but I can't see the graft. That's why I like to purchase in spring...no waiting, no winter loss, no rodent loss. You might want to to protect this little vulnerable thing.

Most plants will grow new roots once their pots can drain. That will use a lot of energy, so although it should stop declining, don't be surprised if it takes a while before the the plant starts to look a lot better. My guess is that you weren't checking the soil at the bottom of the pot, which stayed wet enough to kill roots that tried to grow. In the future, break a 3/8" (or thereabouts) dowel in half and sharpen all four ends in a pencil sharpener or with a utility knife. Push the dowel through the soil all the way to the bottom of the pot, wait a few seconds, and don't water until it is completely dry and unstained by soil, at which point there's still plenty of moisture inside the soil particles available to the roots even though it feels dry. Watering without drainage can leave harmful mineral deposits in the soil. Get rid of them by flushing the pot with 10 times its capacity of room temperature R/O water (sold cheaply from supermarket machines). Then fertilize with a solution of something like like Miracle Grow 3:1:2 General Purpose granules until 10-15% of the solution drains from the pot. When I did this to my mineral-strangled ficuses I could almost hear them sign with relief.