WARNE: August Trades and You -- A Primer
Entry posted by Brandon Warne ·
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The July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is pretty straightforward -- you’re either traded, or you aren’t. It’s after that where it gets a bit....complicated. In fact, players can technically be traded up until the end of the regular season, but they must be in an organization and on the 40-man roster on Aug. 31 to be eligible for postseason play.
In short, that’s why you might see some trades that happen between Aug. 1 and the end of the month.
The Twins have been no stranger to these types of trades. Don Baylor came over in 1987, and despite not doing much down the stretch for that season, was instrumental in October with seven hits in 21 postseason plate appearances, including a home run in the World Series. In 2003, the Twins picked up 46-year-old Jesse Orosco from the New York Yankees to get the last 14 outs of his storied 24-year career. The next year, the Twins acquired catcher Pat Borders for the stretch run from the Mariners with Joe Mauer on the shelf. Two years later, the Twins traded for Phil Nevin.
You get the point.
So what makes these deals different from those consummated before the July 31 deadline? Well, waivers comes into play. Any player not on the 40-man roster can be traded at this time -- which is often why you’ll see big leaguers moved for low-level or low-end prospects and/or cash -- without any special qualification, but a player on a 40-man roster must first be put on what is called revocable trade waivers.
Here’s a hypothetical, not because it would happen, but because it’s relatable:
Let’s say the Twins put Mauer on trade waivers. We’re assuming he doesn’t have a no-trade clause in this case, or that he’s told the Twins he’d waive it to play for a contender. Mauer has somewhere in the vicinity of $30 million owed to him for the rest of this season and all of next season. The other 29 teams have the opportunity to place a claim on Mauer, and if he goes unclaimed, he has cleared waivers and is thus eligible to be traded to any team.
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- Cory Engelhardt and dbminn
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