Players Who Cleared Waivers
I will make this post a permanent sidebar link. This is a running list of players who have cleared waivers, based on published reports. Once a player clears waivers, he can be traded to any team (barring a no-trade clause).
Updated 8-25-08 at 9:00am. Latest to clear in red.
- Paul Byrd – Byrd cleared waivers, but then was traded to the Red Sox. They were the only team willing to pay his remaining $2MM.
- Frank Catalanotto – Catalanotto, 34, is hitting .272/.337/.389 in 267 plate appearances. He’s played first base and left field this year. He’s not helpful against lefthanded pitching. His contract is a problem – $765K this year, $4MM in ’09, and a $2MM buyout in ’10.
- Eric Gagne – Gagne has been awful this year, as his walks and home runs skyrocketed and he dealt with rotator cuff tendinitis. Understandably, no one wanted to pay the $2.15MM remaining on his contract.
- Aubrey Huff – Huff’s .909 OPS ranks 10th in the league, but surprisingly no team wanted to take on his $10.1MM commitment through ’09.
- Mark Kotsay – Ken Rosenthal says he cleared and a number of teams are interested. Kotsay clearing is a bit of a surprise since the A’s are paying most of his salary. Kotsay can block trades to eight teams. The center fielder is having a nice comeback season with a .782 OPS in 324 plate appearances.
- Greg Maddux – Maddux is earning $10MM this year and will only accept a trade to a West Coast team. The Dodgers wanted him but asked the Padres to pay more than 80% of his remaining salary according to Peter Gammons.
- Kevin Millar – Millar has been OK this year; he may reach 20 home runs. He is owed about $710K from here on out.
- Kevin Millwood – Millwood, 33, has a 5.24 ERA in 122 innings this year. He’s dealt with a groin injury for much of the season, as well as a hamstring issue in spring. Millwood will earn another $1.6MM this year and $11MM in ’09. His 2010 salary of $12MM becomes a club option unless he pitches 180 innings in ’09.
- Melvin Mora – Mora has raised his numbers and stock significantly by hitting .378/.421/.652 since the beginning of July. He has a full no-trade clause and is owed $9MM next year and $1.79MM more this year.
- Vicente Padilla – Padilla, 31 in September, has a 4.98 ERA in 148.1 innings. Home runs have been his main problem. He spent time on the DL with a strained neck. He’ll earn another $2.1MM this year and $12MM in ’09. He has a $12MM club option for ’10 with a $1.75MM buyout.
- Jay Payton – Payton is the O’s regular center fielder with Adam Jones out for the season. He is owed $1.3MM for the rest of the season. He’s been lousy offensively, though he can hit lefties and play all three outfield positions.
- David Riske – Riske is owed $860K more this year, $4.25MM in ’09, and $4.5MM in ’10 plus a $250K buyout for a total of almost $10MM. Walks have been a problem this year, as well as elbow pain.
- Dave Ross – Ross had cleared waivers prior to being designated for assignment. He is earning $2.525MM this year.
- Duaner Sanchez – His velocity is down 3.6 mph from ’06. Sanchez is under team control through ’09.
- Scott Schoeneweis – His strikeout rate is down, but so is his ERA. Apparently no team wanted to risk taking on his contract – $910K more this year, $3.6MM in ’09.
- Gary Sheffield – No surprise here. Sheff is owed around $17.5 million between this year and next.
- Jamie Walker – The 37 year-old southpaw has a 5.00 ERA in 27 innings this year. As usual, home runs have been a problem. He spent time on the DL with elbow inflammation and is set to earn $4.5MM next year.
- David Weathers – Weathers is owed only $610K on the season, and he has a 2.52 ERA and 2.78 K/BB since the beginning of June. I am quite surprised he cleared waivers.
Week In Review: 8/10 – 8/16
Taking a look back at this week’s happenings here on MLBTR…
- The biggest move of the month was the Diamondbacks’ acquisition of slugger Adam Dunn for Dallas Buck, Micah Owings, and Wilkin Castillo. I can’t remember any August trades of this magnitude.
- Bronson Arroyo told the media Dunn would be seeking over $100MM this offseason; Dunn denied the report wholeheartedly. I’d be surprised to see him get $100MM, but I also certainly don’t think it would be the worst signing we’ve seen in the past few offseasons.
- The Red Sox acquired Paul Byrd from the Indians. Boston will pay the remaining portion of Byrd’s salary. Byrd has been very good lately, and you can never have too much pitching depth. Not a bad move for Boston, in my opinion.
- The Twins were very active in discussions this week, though nothing surfaced as of yet. Minnesota claimed Jarrod Washburn off waivers from Seattle, but a deal wasn’t worked out. Boof Bonser and salary relief was originally thought to be the offer, but that report was later denied. Passing a chance to unload Washburn’s salary makes no sense to me. The Twins also claimed Alan Embree from Oakland, but he was pulled back.
- Freddy Garcia signed a minor-league contact with the Tigers. They must have liked what they saw at his audition. If he can return to be as effective as he was in his Chicago days, that would be a great signing. Nice low-risk move for Detroit.
- We’ve seen a lot of teams signing their young talent to long-term deals, but it looks like San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum will not be one of them. He’d prefer to go year-to-year.
- Minor moves happening around baseball: The Reds DFA’d David Ross, the Blue Jays released Shannon Stewart, and the Twins signed Bobby Kielty to a minor-league deal. The Giants DFA’d Jose Castillo, and Richie Sexson’s time in New York was cut short when he was released after just 35 plate appearances. The Rockies added another arm, signing Oscar Villareal.
- And now, for the draft-pick signings! Here are all the signings and not-signings teams made with their top picks this week: The White Sox signed Gordon Beckham, the Orioles signed Brian Matusz, the Padres signed Allan Dykstra, the Rangers signed Justin Smoak, the Giants signed Buster Posey, the Pirates signed Pedro Alvarez, the Royals signed Eric Hosmer, and the Reds not only signed Yonder Alonso, but Venezuelan outfielder Yorman Rodriguez as well. The Nationals failed to sign Aaron Crow, and the Yankees failed to sign Gerrit Cole.
- And to cap things off, since we just covered a bunch of guys who probably weren’t even alive when Jamie Moyer first started pitching in the Majors… he didn’t deny the possibility of pitching until he’s 50. He’s 45 right now with 11 wins and an ERA of 3.64, who knows?
Red Sox Acquire Paul Byrd
THURSDAY: Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald heard that the Indians will not receive a player in return for Byrd. The Indians made the deal because the Red Sox were the only team willing to take on the full $2MM+ owed to Byrd.
TUESDAY: According to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, the Red Sox acquired starter Paul Byrd today for a player to be named later or cash. Byrd, 37, has a 4.53 ERA in 131 innings this year. He relies on pinpoint control and has strung together five solid starts. Many are asking why the Yankees passed on him.
Byrd had cleared waivers on account of his $7.5MM salary. He’s still owed over $2MM; no word on whether the Red Sox will pay all of it.
White Sox Not Pursuing Washburn
TUESDAY, 9:30am: De Luca’s latest article confirms Chicago’s lack of interest in Washburn. De Luca says Washburn has "passed through waivers," by the way.
MONDAY, 10:22pm: Kenny Williams’ comments to MLB.com’s Scott Merkin seem to indicate a lack of interest in Washburn.
9:48am: According to Chris De Luca of the Chicago Sun-Times, the White Sox are pursuing Mariners starter Jarrod Washburn as a replacement for Jose Contreras. Contreras may be out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Geoff Baker of The Seattle Times heard from team sources on Saturday that Washburn cleared waivers. Based on the Yankees rumors last month, it appears the Mariners are unwilling to unload Washburn solely for salary relief ($10.35MM in ’09).
ESPN’s Buster Olney had a conflicting report in yesterday’s blog. Olney heard the claiming window remains open on Washburn until 12:30pm CST today, and the White Sox are considering putting one in. Additionally, Ken Rosenthal said on Saturday that the Yankees will put a claim in for Washburn. The Yanks have a worse record, so they’d win such a battle.
Olney also mentioned that Paul Byrd might make sense for the Sox. Byrd has already cleared waivers. Phil Rogers believes Aaron Poreda could be an option.
Keith Law’s Latest: Players On The Move
Keith Law drops some science on some big name players that could still be on the move if they clear waivers. To wit:
Paul Byrd: Law argues that Byrd would be better served pitching in the National League where a "finesse" hurler like him would have an easier time. Byrd was a Type B free agent in 2007, which means he could slip to non-compensation status this year, an incentive for the Indians to try and trade him if he clears waivers.
Greg Maddux: The Bulldog will only waive his no-trade clause for a team on the West Coast, meaning it’s the Dodgers or the Dodgers. The Padres tried to make a deal with L.A. prior to the deadline, but it fell through.
Andruw Jones/Juan Pierre: Speaking of the Dodgers, Law thinks that both Pierre and Jones would sail through waivers due to their hefty salaries and bad performance at the plate.
Aubrey Huff: Ditto for Huff, who’s owed more than $10MM between now and the end of his contract in 2009.
Law makes the case that Brian Fuentes and Adam Dunn would not clear waivers. It’s no secret Fuentes was one of the most coveted relievers before the deadline, but the Rockies were holding out for the perfect offer that never came (never mind that they’re showing signs of life in a mediocre NL West).
Dunn should still draw interest from teams looking for a corner outfielder that can hit .385/.550, argues Law, and a direct rival could place a claim on Dunn to make sure other contending teams don’t.
Alejandro A. Leal writes for UmpBump.com. Post-deadline rumors? Comments? alexo05 [at] umpbump [daught] com.
Rockies Rumors: Fuentes, Redding, Fogg, Byrd
1:38pm: Jayson Stark says Fuentes is staying put. A little more than an hour left til the deadline.
9:33am: Mark Zuckerman of the Washington Times says the Nationals are leaning toward keeping Redding, and have even had preliminary extension talks with him. Trades of Paul Lo Duca, Odalis Perez, and Felipe Lopez are also unlikely.
THURSDAY, 8:31am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post indicates the Rockies want to keep Fuentes. He says they’re looking at starters such as Tim Redding, Josh Fogg, and Paul Byrd. Redding’s stock dropped last night with an ugly start.
WEDNESDAY, 9:12pm: On Sunday, Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd termed a Brian Fuentes trade "highly unlikely." However, ESPN’s Jayson Stark says the Rockies will decide late tonight whether to put Fuentes on the market. The Mets, Phillies, and Rays are out given the high asking price.
Ken Rosenthal wrote earlier that the Rockies were "poking around" with interested parties, still asking for a young MLB starting pitcher or two good prospects.
Yankees Not Eyeing Byrd, Washburn?
12:31pm: Joel Sherman does not agree – he says multiple sources shot down the Byrd idea. Byrd could end up traded in August. Sherman considers the Jarrod Washburn talks dormant, but Jon Heyman does not agree.
12:02pm: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Yankees are "kicking around" Paul Byrd as an option. Names have yet to be exchanged. The Rockies have just mild interest in the 37 year-old righty.
Dodgers Interested In Maddux, Byrd
9:28pm: Rosenthal says Maddux’s salary may pose a problem – the Dodgers don’t want to take it on while the Padres want to shed it. He’s still owed about $3.3MM.
5:28pm: The Dodgers have their eye on Greg Maddux as well, according to Buster Olney. Names are being exchanged.
3:43pm: From Ken Davidoff of Newsday:
The Indians are likely to trade starting pitcher Paul Byrd, with the Dodgers among the reported suitors.
The interest is surprising; the Dodgers were not thought to be after starting pitching. Byrd has about $2.7MM left on his contract and carries a 4.93 ERA in 20 starts.
Graziano’s Latest: Dunn, Putz, Laird
Time to check in with Dan Graziano of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Graziano calls Adam Dunn "the man without a rumor." Even with his flaws this one is hard to figure out. [UPDATE: SI.com’s Jon Heyman is finally hearing a couple of teams are in on Dunn.]
- John Maine‘s rotator cuff strain has the Mets looking at pitching. Graziano suggests names like Livan Hernandez, Paul Byrd, and Jarrod Washburn.
- The Mets have talked to the Tigers about Scott Schoeneweis. They’d have to replace him, maybe with Arthur Rhodes or Eddie Guardado.
- The Mariners will listen on J.J. Putz, but he won’t come cheap. The Cardinals and Red Sox have interest. Putz is signed through ’09 with an option for ’10.
- The Yankees and Marlins have asked about catcher Gerald Laird, while many teams like Jarrod Saltalamacchia.
- The Braves are willing to trade Will Ohman and Mark Kotsay.
Rockies Eyeing Byrd, Duchscherer
MONDAY: The Rockies won’t be acquiring Arroyo, but add Cleveland’s Paul Byrd to their list. Buster Olney wonders whether Byrd might clear waivers in August if need be. He has about $2.7MM left on his contract.
SUNDAY: According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the Rockies have inquired on A’s starter Justin Duchscherer as part of their hunt for a starter. Duchscherer is under team control through ’09. As you know, the Rockies also asked the Reds about Bronson Arroyo.
Olney notes that GM Dan O’Dowd continues to talk to other teams about Brian Fuentes. It seems quite possible that the Rockies will try to have it both ways.