When the Cubs acquired–some consider “stole” a more appropriate verb–Randall Simon from the Pirates last Aug. 16, it helped turn them into immediate contenders.
Not only did Simon hit .282 with 21 RBIs in 33 games the rest of the season and produce a two-homer game on Sept. 7 that propelled the Cubs into first place for the first time in nearly a month, he also hit .333 with six RBIs in the postseason.
Is there another Randall Simon–preferably a relief-pitcher version–in the Cubs’ future this season? If there is, he better get here before Wednesday.
That’s the key date for contenders to add players to the postseason roster. And the only way to add them is to make what is known as a waiver deal.
While all the last-minute hoopla surrounding the July 31 trading deadline is real, teams still can acquire help in August through a difficult and delicate process that involves intricacy and intrigue.
In fact, the past 25 Augusts have averaged 10 waiver “trades,” many of them insignificant, but some of them immense.
For instance, the Cardinals–the undisputed kings of the waiver-wire deal–have acquired in August such big-time help as Mark McGwire, Will Clark, Woody Williams, Scott Rolen and now Larry Walker.
Last season the Marlins acquired outfielder Jeff Conine, who contributed greatly to the World Series championship.
This season the Cardinals purloined Walker from Colorado. The Giants, who are the Cubs’ main competitor for the National League’s wild-card playoff race, have made no secret they are scouring the scrap heap for relief help.
But it isn’t easy, despite what the Cardinals have done.
Acquiring players through waivers involves a system that is complex, confusing and complicated, a veritable 30-team chess match.
How is it done? Here’s a five-step primer:
1. After the July 31 trading deadline, teams are allowed to put a maximum of seven players per day on “recallable waivers,” which is different from “irrevocable waivers” designed to release a player. Many times teams put their entire roster on the waiver wire, just to gauge interest for winter trades.
2. For two days, other teams are allowed to “claim” players on waivers, starting in reverse order of the standings and in the league of the originating team.
3. If a team claims a player, the originating team has three options: Pull the player off waivers, meaning he cannot be traded until the winter; let the claiming team pay the $20,000 waiver fee; or take 48 hours to work out a trade with the claiming team.
4. The team claiming the player is doing so for one of two reasons: It wants the player and would be willing to work out a trade, or it wants to block that player from going to a team higher in the standings.
Blocking can work for or against a team.
Just last week, the Red Sox reportedly put in a claim for Houston’s Roger Clemens. They knew they would not get him, but they didn’t want the Yankees (higher in the standings) to claim him and work out a trade with Houston. The Astros reportedly pulled Clemens off waivers after Boston’s claim.
The most infamous example of blocking came in 1998, when San Diego GM Kevin Towers put in a claim for reliever Randy Myers just so he wouldn’t go to Atlanta.
The Padres figured Toronto would pull Myers off waivers. But guess what? Toronto told Towers that Myers was now San Diego property and to please send a check for the $20,000 waiver fee. The Padres paid the rest of Myers’ $13 million contract, and he pitched in only 14 1/3 innings because of injury.
5. Once a player clears waivers, his team is allowed to make the best deal with any other team.
For instance, the Cubs gave up only minor-league outfielder Ray Sadler for Simon.
It is very rare the best players are waived through the waiver process, unless they have an insanely large contract.
That brings us back to the Cardinals and Walker. The Cardinals and Rockies had talked trade before July 31 but didn’t have time to complete a deal. Once Walker and his $17.5 million contract had cleared waivers, the Cardinals worked out a trade to satisfy the Rockies–with Colorado paying more than half the remaining contract–and satisfied Walker enough that he waived his no-trade clause, something he had refused to do for some other teams, including the White Sox.
Understand all that? Don’t worry, even the game’s best general managers are caught peeking in the official rules book these days.
