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Club's Lofty Status Limits Its Options On Waiver Wire

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By MARC LANCASTER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 17, 2008

ARLINGTON, Texas - Throughout most of their existence, the Rays could have put in a claim for just about anybody they wanted on the waiver wire and had little doubt that they would end up taking priority. Not that they really needed to most of the time, given they never were playing for anything and only trolled the wire to fill a stray hole here and there.

But that old lingering security of picking first or close to it serves as something of a frustrating memory for the Rays' front office these days. Now that they're in a situation where they not only want to make some waiver-related moves, but actually need to, they're essentially out of luck because of their lofty place in the standings.

"I think it's the only downside to having the record that we have right now," Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman said. "It certainly limits our options in such a way that it's extremely unrealistic to expect that we will be able to get something done in August."

To recap the waiver process this time of year: Any player traded in August must pass through waivers, and any team can put in a claim on any player on the waiver wire.

The claim is awarded in order of league affiliation and record, so the team with the worst record in the American League would have first dibs on any AL player. Every AL team would get a shot before the process started over again with the NL's worst team, leading to the team with the best record in the NL having the last priority. The waiving team can then work out a trade with the team that wins the claim or just give the player up for nothing.

Players who go completely unclaimed on waivers - often those with hefty remaining contracts - can be dealt to anyone at any time thereafter.

Just because a claim is placed doesn't mean a player is going anywhere; in fact, teams routinely put much of their roster on waivers during August. The waiving team can pull back any player who has been claimed, which is what happens most of the time, or work out some sort of deal.

Teams in contention often will put in claims on players who might be of interest to teams they're chasing in an effort to "block" their rivals. That is believed to be the reason the Red Sox claimed Brian Giles from the Padres a couple of weeks back - they wanted to prevent the Rays from getting the outfielder.

And it also explains why any desirable player is unlikely to fall to the Rays. It's in the best interests of the Red Sox, Yankees, White Sox, Twins and everyone else still fighting for a playoff spot to keep the Rays from making a significant addition - especially since Tampa Bay has been weakened by the loss of Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria.

"Now that it's mid-August and with some of the injuries we have, the teams behind us are turning it into kind of a hobby," Friedman said. "And I don't blame them. It's absolutely the prudent thing to do. If we were in their position we'd be doing the exact same thing."

PLAYOFF ROSTER: There has been some talk of calling LHP David Price to the majors before the end of the month simply to ensure he would be eligible for postseason play, but that isn't a factor - he already is eligible.

Any player in the Rays' organization but not in the majors as of Aug. 31 can be added to the playoff roster as a replacement for an injured player. The Rays already have one such slot guaranteed to be available, as RHP Chad Orvella is on the 60-day disabled list after undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery. Even if Price didn't come up until sometime in September, the Rays could simply use him to take Orvella's spot.

Not that anyone needs to explain this rule to Joe Maddon; he was a firsthand witness to the most celebrated instance of replacing an injured player with a young phenom. The Angels did it in 2002 with Francisco Rodriguez, who made his big-league debut Sept. 18 that season and logged five playoff wins on the way to a World Series title.

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