Atlanta Braves Morning Chop: All you ever wanted to know about waiver trading

Trading Season is Over! No, Not Really. Here’s everything you need to know about trading players in August via Waivers.

Disappointed that several veteran Atlanta Braves are still on the roster?  Not to worry – a couple of them could still be traded, and this primer will tell you how that can get done.

While July 31st marked the end of the unrestricted trading deadline for Major League baseball, there is still a window of opportunity for contenders to continue to beef up their rosters for the stretch run.

There are some explanations of this around on the internet, but frankly, I didn’t like like how they were structured, so this version exists in the hopes of answering all of the inevitable questions.

I do like, however, this definition of “waivers” from baseball-reference.com that I will start off with:

"Waivers are a [request for] permission granted by the other teams in Major League Baseball to allow a team to do a player move which would not normally be allowed by the rules. In other words, opposing teams waive their objection to the move."

A “Waiver Claim,“ therefore, is a team’s statement of objection to a request to waive the player-movement rules. Such a claim has numerous implications, and that’s the subject of this post.

Next: The Basics

The Basics – Starting from August 1st

Players made eligible for trade are placed on “revocable waivers“. This is routinely done for most of the 40-man roster of most teams.

Teams may place as many as 7 active players per day on waivers, and that process begins immediately.

Normally, players on the Disabled List cannot be placed on revocable waivers. However, the Indians did so in the deal that brought Nick Swisher to Atlanta 2 years ago. This is legal if the player is eligible to come off of the DL (rehabbing in the minors, for instance), and both teams agree.

Why is this done ‘routinely’?

• The rules require waiver requests be done for individual players – not as a blanket request for the whole team.
• It provides maximum flexibility for their GMs for future considerations – we’ll get to the meaning of that later;
• It helps to gauge interest that other teams might have in a player;
• It can mask whatever a team’s true trade intentions might be;
• It doesn’t single out individual players as possible trade bait — which can get players bent out of shape (witness Andruw Jones‘ complaints from several years ago when the Braves put him on waivers – he didn’t read this tutorial!).

Teams get a report of the previous day’s waiver requests at 2pm EDT each day.  At that point, there is a 48-hour claiming period, during which any team may put in an claim on a specific player – a claim which objects to his team’s request to waive the player-movement rules for that player…that’s what it means to place a waiver claim.

To prevent every team from claiming every player out there and causing utter chaos, there is a token price ($20,000) attached to waiver claims.

[ This is why the process helps gauge the interest of others – you have to put up some funds to put in a waiver claim ]

If a team fails to make a claim, it is effectively saying: “we have no objection to you moving this player to another team”, and thus they are rendered powerless in whatever happens after that point.

Thus, if you don’t object, you give up the right to complain later.

Next: The 'Gotchas' to the Rules

The ‘Gotchas’

There are several “gotchas” to the claiming process: you can impress your office-mates by knowing these!

The obvious one is that if your team puts in a claim, you must have both 40-man and 25-man roster spots available – or at least planned for – in case you win the claim… and the player. But we’ll get to all that.

1. The simple case: if no team chooses to put in an objection claim for a given player after the 48-hour window, that player may then be freely traded to any other team — just like the rules allowed before August.

i.e., When nobody objects, all trade restrictions are removed… except for a little detail that I’ll cover in Item #4 below.

2. The fun part: a waiver claim is made. Let’s use an example of Justin Verlander, since he could be an interesting case. His contract requires another $7 million payment this year, but $56 million guaranteed through 2019 (with a $22m vesting option and 10-and-5 no-trade rights).

It is exactly for that financial reason he will probably clear waivers unclaimed. But for the sake of argument, let’s suppose that the LA Dodgers put in a claim.  What happens then?

Here are the options after a claim:

• a. Revocation of Waivers. The Tigers can choose to pull Verlander back to their side of the void… that’s the “revocable” part of revocable waivers. This is effectively a team saying “PSYCH – I wasn’t really trying to trade this guy.” He still belongs to the original squad…. but of course they still gotta pay him.
• b. A Trade. Detroit can try to negotiate a trade…. exclusively with the Dodgers, since they were the claimants (they asserted their right to object — and are rewarded with this right of exclusivity).
  • That trading opportunity window is limited — 48 more hours. If they cannot get together on a deal in that time frame, then the Tigers can still pull Verlander back to them… OR they can…
• c. Give the Player away. At the Tigers’ option, the claimed player can simply be given away — including the entire contract  — to the claiming team.  No compensation goes back… except for the salary relief.

This is why the higher-salaried players will often clear waivers: because of the risk that it’s simply a salary dump ploy.  So while the initial dinner date (the waiver claim) might be relatively cheap, you might regret it in the morning. See the ‘Nuclear Weapons’ section later.

Next: But Wait, There's More



The Gotchas, Part 2

3. Non-revokable Waiver Claims. If a player is pulled back to his original team (i.e., a waiver request is revoked), the original team CAN place the same player on waivers again during August.

However, during that second time, the Right to Revoke is lost: any team making the claim has effectively bought the player without the need to negotiate anything. This is rare, but it happens.

4. Trader Jacks: Let’s say that a bona fide trade deal is worked out. Waived Player A is traded for a Player B. If Player B is on the 40-man roster of his club, then he must also have already passed through waivers successfully (i.e., his own 48-hour waiver period is done and nobody claimed him) before being trade-eligible.

When I mentioned “maximum flexibility” above, this is what I was referring to: when you get a large number of your own players through waivers, your GM has more options for possible trades, which can include 40-man roster guys IF they are eligible.

If ‘Player B’ is not on the 40-man, then there is no issue, as waivers are not required for them. This turns out to be common with routine “veteran-for-prospects” trade deals.

5. The PTBNL. Sometimes, these trades are also done on a “Player To Be Named Later” (PTBNL) basis… if you believe you can’t get a guy through waivers to make him tradable, then you could simply wait out the process and “name” the guy after the season when this process is no longer in force.

This also happens for players currently ineligible to be traded for some reason or another (such as being on the Disabled List or being a recent draftee). So there are ways around it if the two partners are satisfied enough to wait it out… including trades made for that versatile player named Cash Considerations.

Three quick rules on PTBNL:

• There is a 6 month window available for trades involving PTBNL.  All such deals must be completed in that 6 month window.
• If a major leaguer is involved, “the player named later can’t have played in the same league as the team he’s being traded to.” (Rob Neyer’s words). Don’t ask me why. It’s an odd rule.
  
• Players drafted in 2017 are not eligible to be traded until after the World Series ends.

Next: Waiver Conflicts!



Resolving Multiple Claims

Okay, that’s trading with one claiming partner. But suppose there are multiple teams making claims on the same waived player. What then?

There is a “pecking order” of priority — which prevents the best teams from simply loading up on the better players. Let’s go back to Justin Verlander’s case and suppose that the Dodgers, Cubs, Red Sox, and Houston ALL claim him.

Take all of the teams making a claim and arrange them in order of League, and then by current Won-Loss record.  JV is in the American League, so the Red Sox and Astros get first crack – and the Red Sox win out because their record is currently worse than the Astros.

If no AL team claims him, then the NL squads finally get a chance – with the Cubs prevailing over the Dodgers.

Waiver claims are supposed to be a secret – in the example, the Tigers will know the winning claimant, but they are not entitled to know about others who may have been involved in the process.

If a team fails to make a claim, it is effectively saying: “we have no objection to you moving this player to another team”… If you don’t object, you give up the right to complain later.

Once again, the rule is this:

• First – look for claims within the same league as the waived player.
• If multiple teams in that league put in a claim, the winner is the one with the worst record on the date in which the 48 hour window expires.
• If no team in the same league puts in a claim, repeat the above for the opposing league.
• In case of a tie?… use playoff tie-breaker rules.

THE ATLANTA ANGLE:  The Braves are currently 5th in National League claim priority.  Only the Giants, Phillies, Reds, and Padres have worse records at this time.  But the Braves are only 1 game from passing the Mets and Marlins, and that might matter for claims.

If the claim-winning team is unable to come to a trade agreement, then it’s over: the player will likely be pulled back to his original team. You cannot go to the next claiming team in line.

The team that wins the claim has the exclusive right to negotiate a trade. There are some unfair negotiating advantages that this would impose on the process otherwise.

An Aside – it is a little ironic, actually: the team winning the claim is the one saying “I object to your request to waive the rules in asking for your player to be moved after the trade deadline.”  Yet, they are then the only team that is permitted to facilitate exactly such a move!

Next: The Nuclear Option



Waiver Claims as a Nuclear Weapon

There are numerous famous cases of a team making a claim specifically to block a (better) rival from obtaining a certain player. Do note that this is a two-way weapon… you might also get stuck with somebody that you don’t really want yourself/can’t afford.

History Lessons

• The Braves claimed pitcher Dennis Martinez in 1993 to block him from the Giants. As it happens, Atlanta didn’t get him… but then neither did the Giants. There’s also a rumor that the Yankees put in 45 claims that year to try and block “every decent starting pitcher” available!
• The Braves were blocked from getting closer Randy Myers in 1998 when the Blue Jays waived him and San Diego put in a claim. Oops… the Blue Jays simply gave him to the Padres for nothing, saying “thank you very much for taking his contract”, which was for an additional $14 million over 2 years (think 1998 dollars – that was huge).
• In August 2009, the same thing happened to the Chicago White Sox involving Alex Rios. The Sox may have been trying to block Rios from getting to Detroit, but Toronto stuck them with the $60 million remaining on his contract through 2014.
• The Yankees were stuck with Jose Canseco in 2000 when he was waived by the (then) Devil Rays in an apparent attempt to trade him to the Blue Jays. He basically sat on the bench for the rest of the year with real no position available to him, but you could argue that the tactic was still successful, because Jose – and his new teammates – ended up with a World Series ring.

Next: The Devil Rays are in the Details



FAQ About the Pesky Little Details

A. Note that waiver claim trades may continue to occur from now until the end of the season — but to be “playoff eligible”, traded players must be on their new team’s 25-man roster before September 1st (see next page).

It’s for that reason that the waiver-trade action will be from now until the end of August, as the only practical reason for going past that date is to replace injured players.

B. Can teams talk trade before the waiver claims are made? Sure — if you want to do a trade, it’s a good idea to work out the parameters beforehand… and sometimes the claims process actually works out to let that happen.

C. Let’s suppose the Cards and Brewers both make a waiver claim on the same player, which costs each team $20K. Based on today’s standings, the Cardinals would win the claim.

Do the Brewers then get a refund of their $20 grand? Nope. That’s their ante in the poker game: the non-refundable price of admission.

It is a high enough fee that most teams won’t make claims frivolously, but low enough to still allow for meaningful transactions.

D. What if a player has 10-and-5 rights or a no-trade clause in his contract and is claimed (this is the case with Justin Verlander)?

(1) The player’s rights stay in force.

(2) The player cannot be placed on trade assignment waivers a second time (that’s the ‘non-revocable’ version) unless the player agrees to this action.

(3) That’s a real good case for teams having a conversation about the player beforehand… and perhaps even involving the player’s agent.

E. So where do I (John Q. Baseballfan) go to see the current listing on the waiver wire? Well… you can’t, actually.  Check this tidbit from Wikipedia:

"The waiver “wire” is a secret within the personnel of the Major League Baseball clubs; no announcement of a waiver is made until a transaction actually occurs."

Bummer. Occasionally some information will be leaked out (we are in a twitter world now), but by-and-large, we simply don’t know until after the fact. Takes some of the fun out of it, but overall, that’s probably a good thing.

Next: Playoffs? Who Said Anything About Playoffs?



Playoff Eligibility

This is almost as confusing as the waiver process itself, but at least I can boil it down to a fairly compact list of bullet points. A player is eligible for post-season play if he fits any of the following eligibility rules:

• On the 25-man active roster before September 1st.
• On the Disabled list as of August 31/midnight (but, per usual practice, must be eligible to come off of the list for a given playoff game)
• On the bereavement list as of August 31/midnight.
• On the suspended list as of August 31/midnight.
• He is a member of the team’s organization (at any level) and is approved by the Commissioner’s office to replace an injured player during the playoffs. Such a player must be a direct replacement (position for position: you can’t add a pitcher to replace a catcher). If the player is not currently on the 40-man roster, he must be added. He then must also be added to the 25-man active roster, replacing the injured man. Replacement player must have been a member of the organization continuously from at least the period of August 31st onward.

There’s a time period in which you can do these in-playoff replacements — the beginning of a series or something like that. But that’s way deeper than we need to go right now.

Next: Final Chapter: Collective Bargains



About Qualifying Offers

There is an interesting wrinkle in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) that should be discussed here. We got to see it play out during its first year of implementation in 2012, but it’s clearly a part of the trade calculus – even more so now that it’s been modified in the newest CBA.

During the season, if you trade somebody away, you cannot receive compensation for the loss of the player – except via the trade itself.  Likewise, if you accept a traded player and then lose that new player to off-season free agency (i.e., you bought a “rental” guy), then you don’t get a compensatory draft pick. Period.

Your team is eligible to compensated for the loss of a player IF all of the above apply:

• You had the player on your 40-man roster during the entire season.
• You offer a 1-year contract matching or exceeding the average of the top 125 players (looks to be $18.1m for 2018). This is called the “Qualifying Offer”.
• The player declines your Qualifying Offer and signs elsewhere.

ALSO:  If a player has previously received a Qualifying Offer during some other off-season in the past, he is ineligible to be saddled with that baggage again (his new team would lose a draft pick).

What compensation is there for teams losing a player?  It got complicated in the new CBA:

• Your team must make the Qualifying Offer.  If the player can’t get one, then you get no compensation.
• If you are a Revenue-sharing welfare team AND the player signs next year for $50 million or more, you get an extra draft pick before the first set of Competitive Balance picks after Round 1.
• If you are a Revenue-sharing recipient AND the player signs for less than $50 million, then you get an extra draft pick before the second Competitive Balance picks after Round 2.
• If your team doesn’t get revenue-sharing bucks AND didn’t pay payroll luxury taxes, your compensation comes after Competitive Balance Round B picks, just prior to the third Round of the draft.
• If your team pays payroll luxury taxes, your compensation comes after the 4th Round of the draft.

So… if you trade away a pending free-agent guy that is likely to be worthy of a one-year contract offer above the magic $18.1+ million level (say:  Alex Cobb, for instance), then your trade compensation should be at least first-round-pick worthy, or else you made a bad deal.

In short:  all in-season trades cancel any chance of a compensation pick.

“10-and-5″ rights

A “10-and-5″ player has 10+ years of major league service time and at least 5 years of time with the same club. Such players are empowered with an assumed ‘no-trade’ clause, which means they have the right to veto any trade presented to them.

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There used to be an additional clause that required a ‘cooling off’ period of 24-hours before a 10-and-5 guy was permitted to approve a trade. This got in the way of some deadline deals.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported via twitter in 2012 that this cooling period rule was eliminated from the CBA, so trade discussions about such players can go right down to the wire…or even stretch on indefinitely, as there is also no time limit by which they are required to respond.

You may recall that the widely reported 2012 trade of Ryan Dempster from the Cubs to the Braves (“There is no trade!”) eventually died because Dempster utterly failed to acknowledge it, much less approve anything.

10-and-5 rights cannot be ignored, neither can explicit no-trade clauses in existing contracts: at any point a trade is proposed, players with those rights in place must actually approve the trade in writing. Without that – “there is no trade”.

Next: So About That Quiet Trade Deadline...

Several online sources contributed to this compilation/confirmation of this information.

Thanks for attending! Class dismissed.