Does anyone really understand the waiver wire?

August is the time of year in the baseball season where fans freak out when MLB’s strange waiver process is in gear. Any player under contract may be placed on waivers at any time during the season, but after MLB’s July 31 trade deadline and through to the end of the season is when rules and procedures get confusing for everyone, myself included. During that time, a team must place a player on waivers if that player is to be eligible to be traded.

If a player is put on waivers, 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, the order is determined by 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. 

It is very common for teams to put multiples players on waivers at this time of year. Many times, the teams have no intention of releasing, or even trading, a player. They may just be gauging interest for the player in the offseason trade market, and the waiving team just takes away the waiver claim when they see who claimed the player. Some teams have actually been known to put their entire roster on waivers as a way of finding which players teams are interested in.

This process is meant to be in secret within the personnel of the MLB clubs, but that’s not always the case. News was leaked that Joe Mauer was put on waivers by the Twins, and there was instant negative reaction by Twins fans. The backlash was exacerbated by the fact that few people actually understand the common process of putting players on waivers, no fault of their own. 

Even worse, is the fact the Red Sox have loads of extra cash now and could easily take on Mauer’s contract, Ken Rosenthal reports. Yahoo! Sports says it makes sense, but more reports are that Boston won’t make a claim. The Dodgers seem to not have any worry about size of contracts, so they could be counted as a team that may make a claim.

Either way, Twins fans, it’s likely a formality that Mauer is on the waiver wire. Take a deep breath now; your beloved St. Paul boy probably isn’t going anywhere right away.