The non-waiver trading deadline has come and gone, but teams still have another month to add talent due to the waiver deadline.
The waiver process goes like this. Each team, in reverse order of the overall standings this season, gets a chance to claim a player. If a claim is made, the original team has three options:
1. Let the player go without compensation
2. Take the player off waivers to make him untradeable
3. Work out a trade with the claiming team
It’s a second opportunity for a team like the Yankees, who didn’t make a non-waiver deadline deal for the first time since 1999.
Houston’s Wandy Rodriguez and his $39 million contract will still be available, as Houston wants to cut its payroll to $60 million. If a ballclub still needs a bat, Josh Willingham could land somewhere.
It also gives teams who fall out of contention, like the Twins or Rays, a chance to dispose players whose contracts end at the conclusion of the regular season.
We’ve seen several significant deals made after the non-waiver deadline over the years.
In 2001, with the Cardinals five games back of the wild card, they obtained starting pitcher Woody Williams for outfielder Ray Lankford. St. Louis got hot and won the wild card by three games.
The Cards landed Larry Walker from the Rockies in 2004 to add depth to their lineup. They won the pennant but fell to the Red Sox in four games in the World Series.
The Phillies got pinch-hit specialist Matt Stairs in 2008. He hit the big go-ahead home run in Game 4 of the NLCS to beat the Dodgers.
Lastly, the Giants acquired Cody Ross last year. He won the 2010 NLCS MVP en route to a World Series crown for San Francisco.
You’ll notice that I’ve used midseason and preseason prospect rankings in this piece.
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