Hope this helps clear up some confusions people are having about this Waiver Period. Explaining August Trades By Steve Adams [August 1 at 2:00pm CST] After one of the slower non-waiver trade deadlines in recent history, we're into August, which doesnt' mean that trades are off the table. Teams can still conduct trades in August, but they're more complicated. Here's a rundown of how August trades work... Teams have to pass players through revocable waivers to trade them after the July 31st deadline. Players acquired after August 31st can't play in the postseason. Teams will often put most of their players on waivers to determine interest, since they don't have to give up every player who's claimed. Unclaimed players can be traded to any club in August (or even September). Teams don't have to trade players who are claimed. They can hand the player and his salary over for nothing. If a team places a player on waivers after he is claimed, but not traded, the team loses the right to pull its player back. In other words, the waivers are revocable at first, but not revocable afterwards. Clubs have two days (48.5 hours) to deal claimed players, but they can only negotiate a trade with one team. Teams have two days to complete a deal regardless of which day of the week the claim takes place on. If only one team claims a player, he can only be dealt to that team. If more than one team claims a player, he can only be traded to the claiming team in his league with the worst record. If a player is only claimed by teams in the other league, he can only be dealt to the claiming team with the worst record. Teams cannot pass players on the disabled list through waivers. There are a few factors that could make this August (and future Augusts) more active on the trade front. The addition of a second Wild Card seems to have made teams less inclined to sell in July. Teams that may have sold in recent years have instead stayed the course and chosen to stand pat, likely with a hope of an August winning streak to push them into contention for one of the newly created playoff spots. Additionally, the fact that the new CBA prevents teams from receiving draft pick compensation for rental players has made trades more difficult to work out. The CBA states that only players who are with their team for the entire season can receive qualifying offers at season's end. Teams are even more hesitant to part with top prospects for rentals now, as compensatory draft picks no longer soften the blow of dealing premium minor league talent. Because fewer impact players were on the move in July, more teams may be looking to make incremental (or in some cases, major) upgrades in August. For proof that significant trades are likely still on the horizon, look no further than 2012. Last year, one of the largest trades of the past decade occurred on August 25 when the Red Sox traded Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto to the Dodgers for James Loney, Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa, Jerry Sands and Ivan De Jesus Jr
