August Acquisition Period Ends On Saturday

We have previously examined the limited means by which teams can add players during the month of August. The rules remain the same when the calendar flips to September, except that newly acquired players can no longer participate in the postseason.

If teams want to add a postseason-eligible player, they’ll have to do so on or before midnight eastern time this coming Saturday. The end-of-August rush won’t be nearly as exciting as it has been in recent years, since there are no more August trades of MLB contracts, but it could still force some action. Teams contemplating whether to expose veteran players to waivers will face a decision point, knowing that those players won’t hold as much appeal if they’re not eligible for the postseason with a new organization.

There’s also still some possibility for surprise opportunities. Most teams placing claims on veterans will be doing so with a focus on immediate needs. But some non-contenders may look at controllable assets. And it’s even conceivable that some interesting players will become available if a contender or two decides to free a roster spot and/or shed excess salary to facilitate another acquisition.

Which players might be candidates to change hands? We’ve also recently listed many such possibilities. Since we compiled that list, several players have indeed hit the wire and ended up being claimed. That includes Billy Hamilton (Braves from Royals), Cory Gearrin (Yankees from Mariners), and Jared Hughes (Phillies from Reds). Others (Adeiny Hechavarria, Chris Iannetta, Jhoulys Chacin) have cleared waivers and hit the open market. And there are a few still-pending waiver-claim candidates, including Nick Martini (Athletics) and Aaron Altherr (Mets).

So … what happens if a player is placed on waivers and one or more contenders have interest? They’ll have to decide whether to place a claim, which will mean taking over the remainder of the contract obligations, or whether to wait and hope the player clears waivers and decides to sign with them as a free agent. If multiple teams place claims on the same player, the commissioner’s office will assign the claim based upon its rules. Claims are processed two days after waivers are sought, at 1 pm eastern time, meaning we could see a bit of a Thursday rush to make players available by Saturday.

The waiver priority system is quite simple: it’s based upon winning percentage. The lower team always has dibs. While the old rules looked first to the league (National or American) of the team seeking waivers, league status now functions only as a tiebreaker if two clubs with the same record each make a claim.

Priority shifts with any move in the standings, so there can and will still be some shuffling. But as of today, this is the order of waiver priority that will govern. (And yes, this also constitutes a current look at the reverse standings for purposes of determining draft order.)

1. Tigers (39-89)
2. Orioles (43-88)
3. Royals (46-86)
4. Marlins (47-83)
5. Blue Jays (53-80)
6. Pirates (55-76)
7. Mariners (56-76)
8. Rockies (59-73)
9. White Sox (60-70)
10. Padres & Reds (61-69) (tie)
11. Angels (63-70)
12. Rangers (64-68)
13. Giants (65-66)
14. Diamondbacks (66-66)
15. Brewers (67-64)
16. Mets (67-63)
17. Phillies (68-62)
18. Cubs (69-61)
19. Red Sox (70-62)
20. Cardinals (72-58)
21. Nationals (73-57)
22. Rays (76-56)
23. Athletics (75-55)
24. Indians (76-55)
25. Braves (80-53)
26. Twins (79-51)
27. Astros (85-47)
28. Dodgers & Yankees (86-47) (tie)