Can you explain how the waiver wires work in baseball?

Question

What does it mean if someone can't "clear the waiver."

Answer 1

Once the trade deadline happens, the only way you can trade away your players is by first placing them on the waiver wire. Each team has a position on the waiver wire and each team has an opportunity, in the designated order, to "claim" the player placed on the wire. If a player fails to "clear the waiver" that means someone has claimed them. Once a player is claimed, they do not have to go to that team, nor does the team that own him have to trade, but it does mean that they cannot, then, go to another team and try to trade him.

There are plenty of managers that will "claim" players knowing full well they will never reach trade agreement, just to keep other teams from getting the player.

Answer 2

The terms "cleared waivers" and "didn't clear waivers" are common at this time of year. After the trading deadline, teams place players on "revocable waivers" to determine how much interest other teams have in that player. Almost every player will be placed on waivers. Sometimes, they want to trade the player now, sometimes it is meant to start off-season trade talks, and sometimes they are trying to dump salary. If a player clears waivers, he can now be traded at any time during the rest of the season. A player who did not clear waivers was claimed by another team. The team who waived the player has three choices. Allow the claiming team to have that player. Work out a trade with the claiming team. Revoke the waivers and keep the player.

Answer 3

There are different types of waviers in baseball. The one you're referring to, where players have to "clear," is specific to players placed on waivers after the trade deadline.

After July 31st, a player can only be traded if he clears waivers. This means that every team has a chance to claim the player, and if one does, then the trade is cancelled, since the player can only be dealt to the team that claims him. During this period, players are placed on "revocable" waivers, which means that they can be pulled off waivers once in August, but only once. Most teams will place several, if not all, of their players on waivers during this month, both to gauge trade interest and to disguise their intentions by confusing teams as to who they might trade.

Hearing that a guy was placed on waivers in August really means nothing, but analysts will sometimes blow it up into something to stoke the trade rumor fires.

Answer 4

What Steph H said +

Minor Leaguers have what are called options. If a minor leaguer has options you can call him up to the big leagues and then if you want to send him back to the minors you use an option and no other team can claim him off waivers.

So if a minor leaguer is called up and has run out of options and is sent back to the minors other teams can claim him off waivers and he becomes a player for that team.

Answer 5

I'm with you, whale. Someone please explain this to us, in words that make sense. Thank you

Answer 6

No.