How can baseball teams make trades, when it's past the trade deadline?

Question

Greg Maddux was just traded to the Dodgers.

Answer 1

This question never gets old. This is the 4006th time it's been asked in here since August 1st. And guess what? By a guy who's supposedly a "top contributor!" Shows you how much being a "top contributor" means.

Amazing, just amazing.

Answer 2

If you want to trade a player after the deadline, you have to place him on waivers. During that period, any other team can claim him (starting with the team with the worst record in the same league). If no teams in the same league claim him, the teams in the opposite league get their chance.

If the player is claimed, one of 3 things can happen:

1) the team that owns the player can work out a trade with the claiming team.

2) the team that owns the player can let the claiming team have him without compensation. (claiming team pays remainder of the contract)

3) The team that owns the player can pull him back.

If #3 occurs, the player cannot be placed on waivers again and cannot be traded until the off season.

Sometimes teams will put in a claim for a player they don't even really want to prevent a rival team from getting him. That is risky if you don't want to be stuck with the contract, because you could end up with option #2.

If no one claims the player, after 48 hours he is said to have "cleared waivers". He can then be traded to any team without restriction.  

Answer 3

waivers teams put players on waivers and teams can claim them almost like free agency  

Answer 4

Before the trading deadline (July 31) teams are allowed to trade a player to any team that they wish as long as the player doesn't have a no trade clause

After the trading deadline, a player must go through waivers. A player going through waivers is released but then every team starting with teams with worst record get a chance at the player and if teams claim player, the original team has something like 24 hours to work out a deal.

Basically most of the players going through waivers are the veteran guys that most teams don't want but can specifically help a team.

In your example, the Padres owned Greg Maddux but he went though waivers so any team can claim him. The Dodgers claimed Maddux and no other team below them claimed him so they are able to work out a deal for Maddux but they are also responsible for the rest of his contract.

Someone older on downside of career like Gary Sheffield could go through waivers but then whoever claimed him would need to pay him $14 Million per year on his deal and they would also need to work out a deal with Tigers to make deal happen.

Elite players could also go through waivers but if someone like David Wright went through waivers, almost every team would claim him so impossible to pass him through waivers. Players are sometimes passed through waivers but pulled back when it appears more then team they wanted to trade with has interest in the player

  

Answer 5

FOR THE LAST TIME...

WAIVERS

Answer 6

waivers