Quietly, one of the more intriguing times of the baseball season had typically been waiver trades around this time of year.
Waiver trades were deals that could take place after the July trade deadline where players who’d pass through waivers unclaimed could be moved elsewhere. Normally, we’d be looking forward to what certain teams could do right before the playoff chase heats up in September. Here’s how it is explained in MLB.com’s glossary:
“Prior to 2019, players could still be traded following the July 31 Trade Deadline if they first cleared revocable trade waivers. Although trades could be completed after Aug. 31 under the old rules, the last day in August was sometimes colloquially referred to as the ‘waiver Trade Deadline,’ as players acquired after that date were ineligible to be added to the postseason roster by their new teams. With regards to newly acquired players, the Aug. 31 postseason roster deadline remains in effect during a typical season.”
It’s unfortunate waiver deals were nixed in 2019, because there are plenty of teams who could try to make realistic moves this season (and in any season!). And, in the past, there have been some notable ones, like José Bautista to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2008, the Houston Astros adding a prospect named Jeff Bagwell in 1990, the Atlanta Braves adding some guy named John Smoltz in 1987, and the infamous Los Angeles Dodgers-Boston Red Sox deal of 2012. We don’t have any of that to look forward to anymore, but if we did, here are a few things that could’ve gone down.
