While the non-waiver trade deadline in Major League Baseball annually garners plenty of attention, trades typically continue to be completed throughout August. Trades may also be completed in September, but a player must be on a club’s roster by the final day in August in order to be eligible for the postseason.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been active after the non-waiver deadline in recent seasons, with their blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox in August 2012 the one often remembered most. Last year the club acquired Justin Ruggiano just prior to the deadline for him to be eligible for postseason play.
The Dodgers also traded for Chase Utley during the month of August. In order for players to be traded after the non-waiver deadline, they must be placed on revocable waivers, which last 47 hours.
If a player clear waivers, his team can trade him without any restrictions. If a player is claimed then his club has three options: complete a trade with the team who filed the claim (48.5 hours to negotiate a deal), pull the player off waivers, or give the player to the team that claimed him, and that club then assumes his contract.
Should more than one team claim a player, priority is first determined by worst to best record in the league of the waiving team, followed by worst to best record in the other league.
If a claimed player is taken off waivers, he will remain with his original team. If this occurs and the same player is placed on waivers a second time, they are irrevocable waivers and the player cannot be recalled.
According to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, Scott Kazmir is among the players who recently cleared waivers:
Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, James Shields and Scott Kazmir are some of the latest players to clear waivers.
— Nick Cafardo (@nickcafardo) August 19, 2016
It should be noted it’s not uncommon for clubs to put several players on waivers — even those they have no intention of trading. Kazmir was put on the 15-day disabled list this week with neck irritation.
He labored through a start at Cincinnati, allowing four runs on six hits. That led to Kazmir meeting with team doctors upon returning to Los Angeles, which resulted in the DL stint.
Kazmir became the Dodgers’ 27th different player to land on the disabled list this season, tying a Major League record set by the 2012 Boston Red Sox. Kazmir signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Dodgers during the offseason.
He holds a player option on his deal after the 2016 season.
