So it Seems Trading Just Got a Whole Lot More Complicated

So the July 31^st trading deadline has come and gone and so it seems that trading just got a whole lot more complicated here in Major League Baseball. For those who don’t know or don’t fully understand the waiver-wire trade deadline that happens from August 1 – August 31 I will try and give you the Readers Digest version of things. Here is the explanation according to Wikipedia:

“Any player under contract may be placed on waivers ("waived") at any time. After MLB's August 1 at 4 pm trade deadline and through to the end of the season, a team must place a player on waivers if that player is to be traded.

If a player is waived, any team may claim him. If more than one team claims the player from waivers, the team with the weakest record in the player's league gets preference. If no team in the player's league claims him, the claiming team with the weakest record in the other league gets preference. In the first month of the season, preference is determined using the previous year's standings.

If a team claims a player off waivers and has a viable claim as described above, his current team (the "waiving team") may choose one of the following options:

·         arrange a trade with the claiming team for that player within two business days of the claim; or

·         rescind the request and keep the player on its major league roster, effectively canceling the waiver; or

·         do nothing and allow the claiming team to assume the player's existing contract, pay the waiving team a waiver fee, and place the player on its active major league roster.

If a player is claimed and the waiving team exercises its rescission option, the waiving team may not use the option again for that player in that season—a subsequent waiver would be irrevocable with a claiming team getting the player essentially for nothing. If no team claims a player off waivers after three business days, the player has cleared waivers and may be assigned to a minor league team, traded (to any team), or released outright.

The waiver "wire" is a secret within the personnel of the Major League Baseball clubs; no official announcement of a waiver is made until a transaction actually occurs, although information sometimes leaks out. Players are often waived during the post-July "waiver-required" trading period for teams to gauge trade interest in a particular player. Usually, when the player is claimed, the waiving team will rescind the waiver to avoid losing the player unless a trade can be worked out with the claiming team.

The National League (NL) was the first of the two major leagues to adopt the trade deadline rule in 1917. Originally it was enforced after June 15, but was later changed as the result of a new collective bargaining agreement. For many years, players could not be traded from one league to another without being waived by all of the teams in the trading team's league. Then an inter-league trading period was established, centered on the winter baseball meetings in December. Later, there were two "inter-league" trading periods each year, one from after the World Series until mid-December and the second from a week before spring training began until March 15. So intent were leagues on keeping their stars from being moved from one league to the other, that then–National League President Warren Giles threatened to keep NL clubs from trading major stars to the American League after the deal that sent Frank Robinson from Cincinnati to Baltimore.”

Confused yet? Basically all that is saying is that if a team wants to trade a player to any team of their choosing they have to first pass them through waivers. If the player passes through waivers he can be traded to all 29 other MLB teams. If he is claimed on waivers he can be pulled back once and then put back on waivers, although the second time around the player who was placed on waivers cannot be pulled back and will have to be traded. The first time around teams will claim any and all players if they feel like they can help or if they feel like they can block another team from getting them. It’s a cat and mouse game and honestly not much tends to go on here. There have been a few notable August trades though and we will cover those throughout the course of the month I’m sure.

So now you’re all caught up. Have a great Tuesday everyone! Especially you my Kari Ann. You have the very best Tuesday. I love you. HEY YOU!