Yes, the trade deadline is over, but we all know there's a loophole for just about anything guided by rules and regulations. Throughout the month of August, MLB teams can trade players during the 'waiver period' and some big names can potentially be on the move.
Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is said to have dropped the ball after failing to execute a single trade prior to the league's deadline. But maybe he had a master plan all along. The MLB's trade deadline strictly refers to non-waiver deals, which are very easy to make if a team has an interested trade partner. After the July 31 deadline, teams are still able to orchestrate trades, but the players in question must go through the league's waiver process.
When a player is placed on waivers, he can be claimed by another team based on the league's waiver order. If the player clears waivers (not claimed by a team after 47 hours) then he can be traded to any team. But if the player is claimed by another team, the organization that originally placed him on waivers has three options: (1) pull the player back from waivers and rescind the transaction; (2) work out a trade with the claiming team within a 48 ½ hour business day window (such a trade can only involve other players who have cleared waivers and NOT players on the team's current 40-man roster); or (3) let the player go to the claiming team for a mere $20,000 fee.
So that's basically it. Now, not many waiver trades happen, but a number of teams possess players they're willing to trade and others might need to make a trade in the event of an injury, poor performance, clubhouse issue, etc. Players who remain notable waiver trade candidates include Texas Rangers outfielder Alex Rios, Philadelphia Phillies pitchers Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee (although he's returning to the DL), Phillies outfielder Marlon Byrd, San Diego Padres closer Jaoquin Benoit, Chicago White Sox first baseman Adam Dunn, second baseman Gordon Beckham, and pitcher John Danks, Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Ben Zobrist, and a number of others who were not dealt before 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Nearly all of the previously mentioned players were garnering interest by a number of teams prior to the deadline. The Mariners, Royals, Giants, and Reds expressed interest in Rios; the Dodgers and Red Sox inquired about Cole Hamels (but the Phillies wanted to gut their entire farm systems); half of the league was interested in Cliff Lee prior to his injury; the Mariners, Pirates, Yankees, and Royals asked Philadelphia about Marlon Byrd, but Amaro's price was again too high; the Yankees and Dodgers contacted San Diego about Jaoquin Benoit, but no deals came to fruition; the Marlins and Yankees spoke to the White Sox about John Danks; and Ben Zobrist was receiving serious interest from the Giants, Mariners, and Pirates (where it was falsely reported he was traded).
Buster Olney's blog on ESPN.com provides more details and information about other players that could be subjected to a waiver trade. After an entertaining non-waiver trade window, perhaps we'll see some interesting waiver trades.
