MLB: Possible August waiver trade candidates

The passing of the trade deadline doesn’t mean GMs will put their phones down anytime soon. Here are some players who could be moved in waiver deals this month.

Well, another MLB trade deadline has come and gone. After weeks of rumors and speculation that gradually reached a fever pitch on the afternoon of July 31, we can all sit back, relax and enjoy the final two months of the regular season, right? Not exactly.

It’s almost become a cliche in the baseball media, but just because the calendar turns to August, it doesn’t mean the wheeling and dealing is finished. Teams can still move players as long as they pass through waivers. If you’re unfamiliar with the process, here’s a basic breakdown.

Beginning in August, a player has to be placed on revocable waivers in order to be traded. Every team in the league gets a chance to claim a player who has been put on waivers. If claimed, the club that posted the player can work out a trade with the claiming team, let the claiming team simply take the player and their remaining contract, or pull the player back and keep them.

Typically, players with sizable outstanding salaries clear waivers easily and are likely candidates for August trades, as teams don’t want to risk claiming them and being stuck with their contracts. While teams can make waiver trades through the end of the regular season, any player has to be with a club by August 31 to be eligible for the postseason, making that date something of a deadline in its own right.

While we probably won’t see a repeat of the August 2012 blockbuster that sent Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett from the Red Sox to the Dodgers, there have been many notable players to switch teams after the traditional non-waiver trade deadline. Which players might still be on the move this season? Let’s take a look.

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