It's Waiver Wednesday at MLBTR! Ok, I might've just made that up. But the previous post I wrote about players who have been claimed off waivers multiple times in the past calendar year got me wondering which GMs have been the most active on the waiver wire in that same span. So, without further ado, here's the list, courtesy of MLBTR's Transaction Tracker (and I doubt you'll be surprised with who's at the top):
- Alex Anthopoulos, Blue Jays: 22 claims
- Brian Cashman, Yankees: 14 claims
- Jed Hoyer, Cubs: 10 claims
- Dan Duquette, Orioles: 8 claims
- Billy Beane, Athletics: 8 claims
- Chris Antonetti, Indians: 8 claims
- Jeff Luhnow, Astros: 7 claims
- Kevin Towers, Diamondbacks: 5 claims
- Dayton Moore, Royals: 5 claims
- Neal Huntington, Pirates: 5 claims
- Josh Byrnes, Padres: 5 claims
- Jon Daniels, Rangers: 5 claims
- Doug Melvin, Brewers: 4 claims
- Terry Ryan, Twins: 3 claims
- Brian Sabean, Giants: 3 claims
- Larry Beinfest, Marlins: 3 claims
- Frank Wren, Braves: 2 claims
- Ben Cherington, Red Sox: 2 claims
- Rick Hahn/Kenny Williams, White Sox: 2 claims
- Jerry Dipoto, Angels: 2 claims
- Sandy Alderson, Mets: 2 claims
- Ruben Amaro Jr., Phillies: 2 claims
- Andrew Friedman, Rays: 2 claims
- Dave Dombrowski, Tigers: 1 claim
- Jack Zduriencik, Mariners: 1 claim
- John Mozeliak, Cardinals: 1 claim
- Mike Rizzo, Nationals: 1 claim
Obviously, because multiple teams bid on many of these players, we have no way of knowing if Rizzo, Dombrowski, Freidman and other GMs at the bottom of the list unsuccessfuly attempted to claim more players. I would imagine that's the case, especially for a team like the Nationals who finished with baseball's best record.
The Rockies, Dodgers and Reds have all failed to make a waiver claim. It's not a total shock in the Reds' case, as they finished 2012 with one of the better records in the game and are low on the totem pole for any potential waiver claims due to their record. The Dodgers were an 86-win club last year, so they were a ways down the pecking order as well. Plus, their deep-pocketed ownership chose to address the team's needs via blockbuster acquisitions of names like Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez and Zack Greinke rather than on the waiver wire.
I'm a bit surprised that with all of the pitching depth on waivers, however, that the last-place Rockies weren't more active. Clearly, the waiver wire isn't stacked with marquee names, but the Rockies finished last season with a combined 5.22 ERA and had a high waiver priority all year due to their record.
Onto teams that did make claims, it's not surprising to see Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays top the list. It seems that any time there's been a waiver claim over the past year, it's been someone being claimed from the Blue Jays, or the Blue Jays claiming someone from another team. Anthopoulos isn't afraid to shuffle the deck and is probably the game's most active GM.
It makes sense to see the Yankees this high as well, given their attempt to slash payroll and the number of injuries they've sustained. The waiver wire is a good outlet to fill holes and achieve short-term, cost-effective help (though none of the players they claimed wound up sticking on the 25-man roster).
In total, our Transation Tracker shows 133 waiver claims over the past calendar year — or roughly one every 2.75 days. Of those 133 claims, the Blue Jays have made a whopping 17 percent. Toronto has also lost 13 players they attempted to sneak through waivers, meaning they've been involved in an incredible 26.3 percent of the waiver claims we've reported here on MLBTR over the past calendar year.
