Can someone explain the waiver wire to me!?
Question:I know a lot about baseball, but have never understood the waiver process. The Twins lost two players this spring to the DBacks, Alex Romero and J.D. Durbin. Does it go by reverse order of last years record, then a claiming team goes to the end of the list? If so, how did the same team get both those players? Did it come all the way back to them, or did all the other teams pass on Durbin? Please explain, I appreciate it.
Answers:
Jackie Robinson: Is everyone sick of hearing about him?
40 men are "protected" by each MLB team. That means that 25 men (the Major League roster) and 15 others from the minors, DL and suspended list cannot be plucked by another team. The Major League roster goes down to 23 for playoffs but the two remaining players continue to be protected by the 40 man. If a player is taken off the 40 man, he can be claimed upon expulsion from it (waivers). Often you will hear of someone being claimed off waivers and that means his MLB team floated his name out to the rest of baseball to see who has interest for a trade, to put someone else on the protected 40 man or simply to get rid of him by sending him to the minors. That player must go through this waiver period before being shipped out, however the parent club will keep the "option" of bringing him back if a rival tries to pick him up. Virtually every player is put on waivers during the season for GMs to assess their value, set up trades, etc.. Sending a player to the minors constitutes another option. Typically, a parent club has 3 options to use during a player's tenure. After that, the player can become a free agent. Thank you Curt Flood.As for your two D'backs, there are many ways for a GM to say "leave them alone, their mine" that won't show up in an SI article.
The waiver wire is set up so that the teams with the worst record get first pick at players placed on waivers. That is why after the trade deadline when teams try to make deals the players have to go through the waiver wire first because they must clear all other teams before making it to the team the trade is meant for. If the Red Sox are behind the Yankees after the trade deadline or vice versa and one of the teams tries to make a trade the team that is behind in the standings can essentially block the trade by claiming the player off waivers before he gets to the other team.
In a professional baseball game, what does the "K" underneath the marker of the field stand for?
players that have been under contract for a certain amount of years cannot be sent to the minor leagues without passing through waivers. Other teams have a chance to put these players on their major league roster. The team with the worst record has first shot at putting the player on their major league roster and then goes to the second worst and so forth. If no team wants the player for their MAJOR league roster, the player passes through waivers and is sent to the original club's MINOR league roster.More Questions & Answers...