We've seen a few low-scale waiver trades after the July 31 non-waiver deadline, but nothing too significant. However, things could begin to heat up as the regular season comes to a close and playoff contenders need to ensure they have the best possible roster before the playoffs.
Colorado Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer recently came off the disabled list because of a shoulder injury that kept him out of action for over two months. The 35-year-old has only played in 33 games this season, but many teams still believe he would be a valuable piece on a postseason roster. On Thursday, the Rockies pulled him off of revocable waivers, which now makes him ineligible to be traded unless the team opts to put him back on.
Cuddyer hasn't played since Sunday because of a hamstring injury, so it's likely the Rockies knew they wouldn't be able to get anything decent in return for him. As of now it does not look like he'll be traded, and if he remains on the team then they'll probably like their chances of signing him in the offseason when he becomes a free agent if he's in the front office's plans for next year.
But things are different for Texas Rangers relief pitcher Neal Cotts and potentially Bartolo Colon of the New York Mets. Cotts was claimed by an unnamed team on Wednesday, meaning the Rangers have a 48-hour window to make a trade with that team or else Cotts returns to Texas. The left-hander has a lot of value, especially now that teams like the Dodgers, Tigers, Pirates, Yankees and others are looking for bullpen help, but it all depends on what Texas is asking for. The 34-year-old has a 3.48 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings this year.
Colon has a shot to be claimed by the Los Angeles Angels. The Halos just lost Garrett Richards for 6-9 months thanks to a left patellar tendon tear - he was the rotation's best pitcher. At this point in the year, he's essentially irreplaceable unless the front office can pull off a trade for Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish who just cleared waivers earlier this week. That's an unlikely scenario, so their best option looks like Colon, who is 11-10 with a 3.85 ERA this season. The Mets were looking to trade Colon prior to the deadline, but a deal never came to fruition. They might be able to shed his $10 million salary for 2015 if the Angels are interested in trading for the right-hander.
Check out MLBTradeRumors.com to see what players across the MLB cleared waivers and are eligible to be traded.
