Philadelphia Phillies Trade Rumors: 5 Pipe Dream Waiver Wire Deals
August 30, 2011 by Alec Snyder
Filed under Fan News
Trade rumors? In August? You’ve got to be kidding me, right?
No, I’m not kidding you.
With just one full day remaining before the August 31 waiver trade deadline, teams scrambling to get last-minute outside help will surely be searching through the waiver wire to find the players they’re looking for. Unfortunately for some teams, this isn’t always possible, due to the process of claiming a player off of waivers: The worst teams get highest priority, and the best teams get lowest priority.
Big-name waiver acquisitions are somewhat rare for any team. Not only would the claiming team on a big-name player such as Ryan Howard or Roy Halladay have to trade a plethora of talent to get them, but they only have two days to negotiate a deal. That’s why it’s more common to see either average starters or backups of all sorts go to other teams via the waiver wire.
However, if a player clears waivers—meaning no team claimed him—he is available to be traded to any team as long as the deal occurs before the deadline. But with all players, it’s important to know that any player claimed after August 31 is not eligible for a spot on a team’s postseason roster.
A team that could be looking for some players is the Philadelphia Phillies. Because the Phillies hold the best record in baseball at 83-46, they are the last team able to claim players off waivers. While it’s a good problem to have, it’s a problem nonetheless. If the Phillies are to make any deals at all through waivers, it would undoubtedly be for a low-market player, such as Mike Sweeney last year, or someone lesser known.
Even though the Phillies would love to claim a player along the lines of Lance Berkman—who somehow cleared waivers—it would be practically impossible, though we can dream, can’t we?
Currently, the Phillies’ biggest gaps are at the left side of the infield (due to injuries of Jimmy Rollins and the ailing Placido Polanco) and a left-handed bat off the bench (due to Ross Gload’s nagging torn hip labrum).
With that, here are five players who, if unrealistically acquired, could make the Phillies’ waiver dreams come true.