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The MLB trade deadline is historically the best way to acquire talent for a playoff push during the regular season, but it is not the only way. Players can also be claimed through waivers. The Los Angeles Angels flipped the script when it came to using the waivers this year, taking an unprecedented approach with their players.
At the trade deadline, the Angeles dealt for numerous players, including Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Randal Grichuk, among others, in an effort to make a push for the playoffs. Instead, megastar Shohei Otani got hurt, and the Angeles went in the wrong direction.
With the playoffs out of reach, the Angeles decided to save some money, waiving Giolito, Lopez, Grichuk, Matt Moore, and Hunter Renfroe. The New York Yankees also waived a notable player, outfielder Harrison Bader. Those players all hit the waiver wire and were eligible to be claimed by teams. Giolito, Lopez, and Moore were claimed by the Cleveland Guardians, while Bader and Renfroe were claimed by the Cincinnati Reds.
All of these players are MLB-caliber ball players capable of helping their new teams in a playoff push. Rarely have such high-quality players hit the waivers. In fact, historically, waived players usually ended up on new teams in a different method.
Until 2019, players could still be traded after the trade deadline. After the trade deadline, a player could be waived and then traded to a new team that claimed him. While this transaction method has gone by the wayside, multiple high-profile trades occurred in this fashion in the past.
With high-quality players being placed on waivers looking like the new wave in the MLB, we decided to look back at the old-school approach to waivers. Here are the five best MLB waiver trade moves of all time.
5. David Cone is traded to the Toronto Blue Jays
In 1991, the Toronto Blue Jays were looking for the missing piece for a World Series run. They settled in on David Cone, and he was just the player they needed. Cone was an All-Star for the New York Mets that season, and the Blue Jays had to trade Jeff Kent – eventually one of the most consistent players in the game – to get him.
Cone continued to dominate in 1992, and he helped the Blue Jays win their first World Series. He had a 2.55 ERA in Toronto and was unhittable in the postseason. However, Toronto proved they could win without him. He left the team after the 1992 season, but the Blue Jays went on to win back-to-back World Series regardless.
Kent became a five-time All-Star, but none of those came with the Mets. Still, he spent five high-quality seasons with the team.
4. Jose Bautista is traded to the Toronto Blue Jays
At the time of Jose Bautista's waiver-wire trade in 2008, few people thought much of the move. Bautista was a struggling third baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he was moved for only Robinzon Diaz.
Bautista just needed a change of scenery because he burst onto the scene with the Blue Jays. While twice leading baseball in home runs, Bautista became a five-time All-Star and three-time silver slugger in Toronto. He was a late-bloomer, and it panned out for Toronto, as they got one of the biggest icons in franchise history for next to nothing.
3. Jeff Bagwell is traded to the Houston Astros
When looking for a rental, teams want to trade away prospects that are unlikely to have impactful MLB careers. That is what the Boston Red Sox thought they were doing when they traded minor leaguer Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for Larry Anderson in 1990.
Anderson actually did his job for Boston, posting a 1.23 ERA over the final month of the season before leaving the team in the offseason. But Bagwell became much more than just a trade throw-in. He went on to spend his entire 15-year career with the Astros. He won the NL MVP in 1994 and went to four All-Star games in the process.
2. John Smoltz is traded to the Atlanta Braves
In 1987, the Detroit Tigers needed pitching help. They got exactly that when they made a MLB waiver-wire trade for Doyle Alexander with the Atlanta Braves. Alexander was the exact type of player you want in a trade. He pitched with an ERA of just 1.53 the rest of the season for Detroit. He even had an All-Star appearance with the club the next season.
What the Tigers didn't know was that the minor league prospect they gave up to get the veteran would become one of the best players in baseball. That player was John Smoltz, a pitcher who went on to play in parts of 20 seasons for the Braves. The Hall of Famer did Hall of Fame things with the Braves. His accolades with the team include a Cy Young Award, an NLCS MVP, and a World Series.
Trading prospects is always risky as you never know what they may become, and the Smoltz trade was a prime example of that.
1. 2017: Justin Verlander is traded to the Houston Astros
With the MLB waiver trade rule being eliminated in 2019, Justin Verlander was the last great “post-trade deadline” trade we will ever see. Verlander was waived by the Detroit Tigers in 2017, and when he went unclaimed, he was traded to the Houston Astros for three prospects. While Verlander will always be remembered for his time with the Tigers, his success in his later years with the Astros has given the pitcher one of the best late-career runs ever.
Verlander helped the Astros win a World Series in his first year with the team. He maintained his status as an ace while winning two Cy Young Awards on the team. His experience on the Astros even led the team to trade for him at the 2023 trade deadline after he spent time with the New York Mets.
