With roster expansion set to hit the thirty Major League Baseball clubs in just a few short days, the waiver wire is starting to heat up, with some big names becoming available.
On Tuesday, teams like the Angels, Mets, and Yankees made some notable players available for teams to acquire through waivers. A team may place a player on waivers for a plethora of reasons, but the most accounted for are to shed payroll, lower luxury tax commitments, and open up roster spots. Priority for the waiver wire is in reverse order of winning percentage, and claimed players ARE eligible for the postseason with their new teams.
The Angels, who notably were buyers at the trade deadline, are now looked at as extreme failures in making that decision.
They have listed multiple players on waivers, including four that they acquired at the trade deadline. Those players are:
- SP Lucas Giolito
- RP Matt Moore
- RP Dominic Leone
- RP Reynaldo Lopez
- OF Randal Grichuk
- OF Hunter Renfroe
For a team that was looking to content post-deadline, this kind of turn of events is not what Los Angeles had hoped for. They had a chance to sell at the deadline but chose the opposite, and now it has backfired on them. Similarly, the New York Yankees, who practically stood pat at the deadline, have placed CF Harrison Bader on waivers. Bader should get some looks from postseason teams looking to shore up their outfield defense in anticipation of October.
The cross-town rival Mets also have taken advantage of the waiver wire, making SP Carlos Carrasco available, as has the Chicago White Sox with SP Mike Clevinger and Detroit Tigers with RP Jose Cisnero.
The next couple of days across baseball will be interesting to monitor as teams begin to make decisions to either prepare for next season and beyond or make a deep postseason run.
Photo: Dr. Roto
