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Jan 22, 2024

August 2023 outright waiver claims

Brian Murphy Thomas Harrigan With the Aug. 31 postseason-roster-eligibility deadline set to pass, we saw a number of notable players change teams via outright waivers on Thursday. You can find a

Brian Murphy

Thomas Harrigan

With the Aug. 31 postseason-roster-eligibility deadline set to pass, we saw a number of notable players change teams via outright waivers on Thursday.

You can find a breakdown of how outright waivers work here. And read on to see the players who were claimed, broken down by claiming team.

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Guardians

RHP Lucas Giolito: The Angels sent two of their best prospects to the White Sox for Giolito and Reynaldo López at the Trade Deadline, only to place both on waivers weeks later after falling further out of the playoff race. A pending free agent, Giolito struggled over six starts with the Halos, posting a 6.89 ERA with 15 walks and 10 homers allowed in 32 2/3 innings, but he had a 3.79 ERA in 21 starts prior to the trade and pitched to a 3.47 ERA with an 11.1 K/9 across 2019-21. He’ll add some veteran experience to a Guardians rotation that has been relying on a trio of rookies: Tanner Bibee, Logan Allen and Gavin Williams.

RHP Reynaldo López: López has posted a 3.29 ERA and a 10.0 K/9 since becoming a full-time reliever in 2022, including a 2.77 ERA with a pair of saves and 19 K’s over 13 innings in his 13-game stint with the Angels. He joins fellow right-handers Emmanuel Clase, James Karinchak, Trevor Stephan, Enyel De Los Santos, Eli Morgan and Nick Sandlin in the Guardians’ bullpen.

LHP Matt Moore: After rejuvenating his career out of the Rangers’ bullpen in 2022, Moore signed a one-year deal with the Angels last offseason and proceeded to post a 2.66 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 12 walks over 44 innings for the Halos. The 34-year-old will add a much needed left-handed component to Cleveland’s relief corps.

“We looked at it as an opportunity to improve our team,” Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said of the moves, which will cost Cleveland an estimated $3.7 million in salaries. “It's rare that you have the ability to improve the team during a season, especially with quality players like this when it doesn't require trading ... good players.” Read more >>

Reds

OF Harrison Bader: Bader has had a down year offensively with career lows in on-base percentage (.278) and OPS (.643) through 310 plate appearances with the Yankees. His season has also been interrupted by two stints on the injured list. But the 29-year-old has long been one of the best defensive center fielders in the game, and that hasn’t changed in 2023. His 8 Outs Above Average are tied for the eighth-most among qualified players. The Reds can certainly use that defense; their outfield OAA (minus-26) is the second worst in MLB. Bader is owed roughly $783,000 for the remainder of his $4.7 million contract for this season.

OF Hunter Renfroe: The Reds have used nine right fielders this season, and that group has combined for a .711 OPS and an 89 wRC+. Even though the 31-year-old Renfoe is having his worst year over a full season at the plate since 2017, his .738 OPS and 98 wRC+ still represent an upgrade as the Reds push to capture an NL Wild Card. Like Bader, Renfroe provides Cincinnati with another strong outfield arm; they each rank in the 90th percentile or higher in arm strength this season. He is owed about $1.98 million from his $11.9 million salary for 2023.

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“We feel we have two solid players to add to our offense and can help contribute and make our defense better in the outfield as well," Reds general manager Nick Krall said. "There’s a chance we’ve got two guys who can help us score some more runs and get us where we need to go.” Read more >>

Mariners

RHP Dominic Leone: The Mariners’ bullpen has the second-best ERA in the Majors since the All-Star break and gets a little deeper with the addition of Leone, who was drafted by the club in 2012 and broke into the big leagues with Seattle in 2014. Leone owns a 4.74 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP this season split between the Mets and the Angels. However, he has routinely turned in high chase and whiff rates and sits in the 91st percentile in each category this year. Seattle will owe him only one month's pay on the $605,000 he's earning this year. Read more >>