MLB trade market: Breaking down key potential targets that have cleared trade waivers

Andrew McCutchen is among the players on trade waivers right now

Although the trade deadline has passed, the trading season is not yet over. Teams can still make trades at any point between now and the end of the season, but, to do so, the player much go through trade waivers. Already this month we've seen Daniel Murphy, Justin Bour, and Mike Fiers involved in waiver trades.

Here's a quick primer on how trade waivers work:

• All players on the 40-man roster must go through waivers to be traded. Non-40-man roster players can be traded at any time.
• Players claimed on trade waivers can only be traded to the claiming team. The two teams have 48 hours to work out a trade.
• Players who go unclaimed on trade waivers can be traded to any team at any time.
• Trade waivers are completely revocable. If a player is claimed, his team can pull him back and keep him.

It is important to note that, while trades can be made at any point in August and September, a player must be in the organization by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 31 to be eligible for the postseason roster. That is a hard deadline with no exceptions or loopholes. That makes August 31 the true trade deadline for contenders. Last season, the Astros snagged Justin Verlander minutes before that August 31 deadline.

Keep in mind pretty much every player in baseball will wind up on trade waivers in August -- Bryce Harper was reportedly claimed on trade waivers and pulled back -- as teams gauge interest in their players and flood the market to hide the players they actually want to trade. The vast majority of players clear waivers, and, when players are claimed and pulled back, it is not often reported.

Here is a not-at-all complete list of players who have already cleared trade waivers in August, and are now eligible to be traded to any team.

Rays first baseman C.J. Cron has cleared trade waivers, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post, meaning Tampa Bay can now trade the slugger to any team. Cron is in the middle of his best season as a big-leaguer -- not coincidentally, it's the first time he's been give regular playing time -- during which he's hit .252/.318/.482 with a career-high 24 home runs. He's making only $2.3 million this year and will remain under team control as an arbitration-eligible player in both 2019 and 2020, so even if he were claimed on trade waivers, chances are the Rays would pull him back and keep him.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Royals first baseman Lucas Duda has already passed through trade waivers. He's on a one-year contract and is not making much money at all ($3.5 million), but Duda has missed time with injuries and is hitting only .237/.308/.397 with 11 home runs in 81 games. An injury could create a need for a contender at first base, otherwise it seems likely Duda will finish the season out in Kansas City. These days it's hard to find a market for a lumbering platoon first baseman with injury problems.

Somewhat surprisingly, Mets infielder Wilmer Flores passed through trade waivers unclaimed, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Flores is hitting .278/.331/.449 with 11 home runs this year and he has a history of hitting left-handed pitchers (.267/.314/.485), plus he can hold his own at all four infield position. He's cheap ($3.4 million) and under control next season, so the Mets wouldn't let him go on a claim, but I still figured a team would take a shot. Or, at the very least, I would've expected a team to place a claim to potentially block the Mets from trading Flores to a rival. Didn't happen. Flores cleared waivers and can be traded anywhere.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, Twins infielder Logan Forsythe has already cleared trade waivers, meaning he can be traded to any club. Minnesota acquired Forsythe from the Dodgers as a way to offset salary in the Brian Dozier trade and he's been great during his short time with the team, hitting .359/.423/.422 with four doubles in 18 games. The Twins are out of the postseason race and Forsythe is an impending free agent, so chances are he'll be dealt again this month. A veteran righty bat who can play the three non-shortstop infield positions could be a nifty little addition to a contender's bench.

I'm not sure there is a player more likely to be traded in August than Blue Jays outfielder Curtis Granderson. Granderson is on a one-year contract and he's hitting a serviceable .242/.341/.431 with 11 home runs this season, including .250/.346/.446 against right-handed pitchers. He's a quality platoon bat with power and a willingness to take a walk, and he's a Grade-A clubhouse guy. Add in the cheap contract and it seems inevitable Granderson will wind up on a contender before long. Granderson has already cleared trade waivers, according to Robert Murray of The Athletic, so the Blue Jays are free to trade him anywhere.

Tigers shortstop Jose Iglesias has cleared trade waivers, reports Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, though it's unclear whether any contending team will have interest in the impending free agent. Iglesias can play the heck out of shortstop, but he's not much of a hitter (.267/.311/.390 in 2018), so Detroit's best bet might be finding a team that needs a utility guy. Either that or wait to see whether a contender suffers an injury -- the Yankees put Didi Gregorius on the disabled list Tuesday, for example -- and has to scramble for a replacement shortstop. 

The historically awful Orioles worked out a deal sending Adam Jones to the contending Phillies before the trade deadline, only to have him block it with his 10-and-5 no-trade protection. That hasn't stopped them from putting Jones on August trade waivers, however. Jon Heyman of Fancred.com reports Jones has already cleared waivers and is eligible to be traded to any team.

Now, that said, Jones still has full no-trade protection and is in complete control of the situation. If he doesn't want to go to another team, he doesn't have to go to another team. Here's more from Heyman:

Sources close to the team suggest though that Jones might be more likely to consider an AL team, where he'd have a chance to DH as well as play the outfield, or perhaps at least a team with a clear need in the outfield.

Jones elected not to explain his decision to block the trade to the Phillies -- "I don't have to explain it to nobody. It's my decision. Thank you," he said -- though he's been playing in Baltimore for 11 years now and has a family and young children he may not want to leave, even for a few months. Never say never, but it sure seems like Jones will finish the season with the O's. Clearing trade waivers doesn't change much here.

Francisco Liriano is no stranger to midsummer trades. He's been traded at the deadline three times in his career, though never in an August waiver deal. The veteran southpaw has a 4.72 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 97 1/3 innings this year and he has experience both as a starter and reliever, making him a potential fit for almost any contender. Remember, the Astros picked him up in 2017 and he was in their bullpen during the postseason. Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press reports Liriano has already cleared trade waivers, so the Tigers can trade him to any team without restriction.

I'd say the chances of the Twins trading Joe Mauer at some point are infinitesimally small. First of all, he is a 10-and-5 player with full no-trade protection, so he can block any deal. Secondly, Mauer is Mr. Minnesota. Grew up in the Twin Cities and now he's a career Twin. I think it's much more likely Mauer, an impending free agent, signs a contract extension -- a contract extension at a much lower salary, of course -- before the end of the month than it is he gets traded. For what it's worth, Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press reports Mauer has already cleared trade waivers, so that hoop has been jumped through.

The Giants, even with Monday's win, are seven games out of a postseason spot and 6-11 in their past 17 games. There is still time to cash in some trade chips and chief among them is Andrew McCutchen. He's hitting .255/.353/.412 with 14 home runs and is an impending free agent, so San Francisco has no reason to keep him these past few weeks.

Not surprisingly, McCutchen was placed on trade waivers this week.

Not surprising given the way #sfgiants played in Cincinnati, but I’m hearing Andrew McCutchen has been placed on revocable waivers. Very good chance he is wearing another uniform by the end of the week.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) August 21, 2018

Even with his production and pedigree, McCutchen is a safe bet to clear trade waivers because of his $14.75 million salary. Most high-salaried players clear trade waivers because no one wants to risk getting stuck with a big contract. Once McCutchen clears, the Giants will be able to shop him around to any team, though of course contenders figure to show the most interest.

Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak slipped through trade waivers unclaimed, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Smoak won't match 38 home runs hit in 2017, but he's a solid first base defender and a switch-hitter with a .255/.365/.463 batting line and 18 home runs. Plus he's making only $4.125 million this year with an affordable $6 million club option for 2019. First basemen usually aren't hot trade waiver commodities, but Smoak seemed like a potential candidate for a waiver claim thanks to that extra year of control. It didn't happen, so he is now eligible to be traded to any team.

According to Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press, Tigers righty Jordan Zimmermann has cleared trade waivers, and that is in no way surprising. Zimmermann is having a nice bounceback year (4.36 ERA in 88 2/3 innings), but he is owed $50 million from 2019-20, and there is no chance a team would claim a player with that contract. Detroit put Zimmermann on trade waivers because pretty much every player gets put on trade waivers at some point. They never had any expectation of a team claiming him, however.