Yankees veterans Brett Gardner, Martin Prado and Stephen Drew have cleared revocable waivers and are now free to be traded to any team, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. Left-hander Matt Thornton, of course, did not sneak through waivers, as he was claimed by the Nationals and subsequently let go by the Yankees, with Washington assuming his remaining salary and year of team control.
It’s not surprising to see any of the these names placed on waivers by the Yankees, as clubs will frequently place a large portion (if not all) of their roster on waivers in the month of August. None of the three figures to be trade bait, as the 58-53 Yankees are just a game back of a Wild Card playoff berth.
Gardner, who turns 31 in just under three weeks, is in the midst of perhaps his best season, having batted .286/.364/.468 with a career-best 15 homers in addition to 18 steals and plus defense in the outfield. While he’s a highly appealing player — he’s been worth 4.4 rWAR and 3.6 fWAR in 2014 — he’s also guaranteed $50MM through his age-34 season (2018).
Prado, also 30, is hitting .268/.316/.365 for the D’Backs and Yankees this season — arguably the worst offensive performance of his career. He’s owed $11MM in 2015 and again in 2016, making him a logical candidate to clear waivers.
Drew, 31, is hitting just .179/.261/.333 with four homers on the season, though he does have a .782 OPS over the past month. Still, his struggles at the plate prevented any team from placing a claim on the roughly $4.24MM he’s owed through the end of the season. A Drew trade is conceivable, if he continues to produce and the Yankees endure an extended series of losses in the month of August.
While Gardner, Prado, Drew and a trio of Dodgers have all reportedly cleared waivers according to reports today, it’s likely that other, unreported players have cleared waivers as well. For a refresher on how revocable waivers and August trades work, you can check out MLBTR’s August Trades primer.
Wow I can’t believe no one claimed Gardner. Prado too for that matter.
I can’t believe Gardner cleared either. Maybe everyone just assumed the Yankees aren’t moving him anyway?
That’s my best guess, but then why were their claims on Hanley Ramirez for that matter?
Pretty easy to see why Prado cleared given the money he’s owed and the fact he’s dropped off significantly this year, but Gardner? Why wouldn’t the Tigers claim him?
so can they be traded for anyone or just other players who have cleared waivers?
They can be traded to any team, but any 40-man player involved in a trade would first have to clear waivers as well.
If a player for whom they are being traded does not clear waivers, the trade can be announced as being for “a player to be named later” and then completed after the season, right?
No one got Gardner? Not even Boston? After what he did to Bucholz?
How did Gardner clear waivers?
Because they think he’s only a “4th Outfielder”
Go Wren – go for it! We could use him! Our season is slowly slipping away we need a lead-off man in the worst way. Ship BJ and a couple of good prospects out and let’s rock!
Gardner isn’t going anywhere, he’s the Yankees best player in a middle of a breakout year. He’s also on a team friendly contract, so the Braves would have to give up their farm system for them to even get the talks started.
I’m a Braves fan – but why on earth would the Yankees want BJ?
They…wouldn’t.
Why would anyone? Even if he were making league minimum. Heck, I’ll go suit up for the Braves and strike out for that……
Like everyone I’m surprised Gardner wasn’t claimed. He’s one of the most underrated players in baseball (weird considering he’s a Yankee). He’s in the Top 10 MLB in WAR, puts up great AB’s, is starting to hit for power, he plays GG defense, and plays the game hard. He’s also on a team friendly contract which is a steal considering what Ellsbury got, so I doubt the Yankees trade him unless a team massively overpays for him.
I’d be crushed if Gardner were traded.
Why would he be? Unless cashman is trying to lose his job
Well his contract is up at the end of the year. Maybe the Yanks go in a new direction.
You do know Gardner signed an extension.
I was referring to Cashman, not Gardner.
The Reds should have claimed Gardner whether or not they thought the Yankees would move him. How about Latos for Gardner and Refsynder?
Latos is damaged goods.
Why would they trade Gardner and a good prospect to get a pitcher, that has had injury problems with year,, with 1.3 years of team control left?
Gardner cleared waivers because every other team knew the Yankees weren’t going to trade Gardner. Gardner just signed an extension and Brian Cashman along with the front office is infatuated with what he’s done this season for the team. If Gardner keeps playing like this and if the Yankees continue to be in the hunt for the Wild Card, he’s not going anywhere.
I’d bet teams contacted Cashman to get an idea of what it’d take to get Gardner. It’s a no brainer that Cashman wanted a few blue chip prospects and a MLB level player.