A Clarification of the MLB trade "deadline"

Although it's rarely discussed, there are actually two trade deadlines in baseball:

July 31st, the non-waiver trading deadline, which is usually called the "trade deadline"
& August 31st, the waiver trading deadline

I knew little about waiver trades, other than they often seemed to be little more than salary dumps (e.g. Abreu to the Yankees)

Here's a great explanation I saw online of how waiver trades work. I don't know where it came from, but apparently it's written by former Mets GM, Steve Phillips:

Just because the trade deadline has passed doesn't mean that teams still can't improve. It's just a bit more complicated now. After the deadline, players must go through the often-confusing waiver process to be moved.

During the waiver period, there are controls on player movement. The waiver process was put in place so teams at the top of the division cannot unilaterally load their clubs for the stretch run. It is a system which favors the teams behind in the standings. Teams with lesser records have the first opportunity to improve themselves and can also block better teams from making deals.

What complicates these trades is the timing necessary to move multiple players through waivers and between teams. It can be done. My first trade as general manager of the Mets was a six-player waiver deal which sent Lance Johnson, Mark Clark and Manny Alexander to the Cubs for Mel Rojas, Turk Wendell and Brian McRae.

What are waivers?
The way to best understand waivers is to look at it as this: Teams trying to earn the right to trade their players.

Things to know about waivers during this period
These type of waivers are called Major League Waivers. It is different from "outright waivers" and "unconditional release waivers." I will explain both of those another day.

Players are often not informed they are on Major League Waivers.

Players remain on waivers for a period of 47 business hours. (The waiver period starts at 2 p.m. ET on the given business day and ends at 1 p.m. ET two business days later.)

A waiver claim can be submitted anytime during the 47-hour period a player is on waivers. There is no advantage to submitting the claim in the first hour or the 47th hour.

Major League Waivers are revocable, meaning that if a player gets claimed, his club can pull him back and keep him if they do not reach a deal with the claiming club. If a player is pulled back off of this type of waivers, he cannot be placed on them again for 30 days.

If a player is claimed on waivers, the team which claims the player has 48½ hours (from 1 p.m. ET on the day he was scheduled to clear waivers to 1:30 p.m. ET two business days later) to make a deal with the player's club or he is automatically pulled back off of waivers.

If a player has a no-trade clause, he can be placed on Major League Waivers, but can only be traded or dumped to a team not on his no-trade list or to a team that he gives written approval to waive his no-trade rights.

Also, a player to be named later cannot be an active major league player.

Players can change teams one of three ways during this time of year
1. A player is claimed on waivers and the team awarded the claim makes a trade with the other club. Remember, all 40-man roster players must go through waivers in order to change teams even if they are in the minor leagues. So timing is critical when teams are moving players back and forth.

2. A player is claimed on waivers and the player's team just decides to dump the claimed player on the claiming team. This is what happens sometimes when a team tries to block a deal that their competition might make. The Padres got burned a few years back because they claimed Randy Myers from the Blue Jays. There were rumors that the Braves wanted to make a deal for Myers so the Padres claimed Myers to block the deal. Unfortunately for the Padres, they blocked the deal but the Blue Jays dumped Myers and his hefty contract on them. Myers went on to suffer a significant injury after that.

3. A player clears waivers, meaning that no team claimed him during the 47-hour period, and is later traded to an interested party.

Here's how it works
Starting Aug. 1, each team can have up to seven players per business day scheduled to clear waivers. (The commissioner's office is closed on weekends and holidays.)

Each business day, teams receive a computer-generated document which identifies those payers who have been placed on waivers.

Imagine the waiver wire as a fashion show where up to seven players per day per team are walking down a runway in front of the general managers. The GMs are looking at them, evaluating them and trying to decide whether they want them for their team or whether their competition may want to acquire them. During the 47-hour period in which players are on waivers, general managers are busy talking to scouts and strategizing about players.

General managers decide to claim a player for the following reasons
1. If they really want to trade for a player.

2. If they want to block an opponent's possible deal.

Once the 47-hour period is over, the commissioner's office informs the player's team if he has been claimed by any major league team(s). Only the player's club knows who put in a claim on the player and who was awarded the claim. The claiming teams are just told whether they were awarded the claim or not.

What happens if more than one team claims a player?
Only one team ultimately gets awarded a waiver claim, no matter how many submit claims. Claims are awarded based upon the following criteria:

1. National League teams get first rights over National League players and American League teams get the first shot at American League players.

2. For teams in the same league, the club with the worst record is awarded the claim.

Once a claim is awarded, the two teams' general managers have a discussion and sort through the grounds for the claim: Was it a claim to make a deal or to block a deal? The GMs may have already spoken about the potential for a trade before the player cleared waivers and quite possibly even before he was placed on waivers.

After these discussions, a deal may be consummated, the player may be dumped to the claiming team or the player could be pulled back off waivers.