Waiver wire grades: Giolito to Guardians, Renfroe to Reds - ESPN

Baseball in Ohio just got a whole lot more interesting.

The Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds, both on the fringes of the playoff hunt in their respective leagues, claimed a combined five players off waivers — headlined by right-hander Lucas Giolito and outfielder Hunter Renfroe — on a unique day for Major League Baseball on Thursday.

The Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees were among the teams who placed veteran players on waivers Tuesday, hoping to cut their losses during a down season and get salary relief if the veterans were picked up by other teams. (MLB no longer allows for waiver trades, so the teams do not get any players in return.) The Guardians and Reds pounced, adding players who can help them down the stretch — and who will also be eligible for the postseason, should the teams qualify. The Seattle Mariners also got into the action.

Here's a closer look at the moves — and how they will affect the playoff races.

Cleveland Guardians claim RHP Lucas Giolito, RHP Reynaldo Lopez, LHP Matt Moore from Los Angeles Angels

Grade: A-

How it affects the playoff race: This out-of-nowhere practice of setting useful players afloat to save a few bucks is going to need to be discussed by the league and other relevant parties because, from a competitive standpoint, it stinks all around. Who wants a playoff race decided like that? These concerns ought to be only tangentially of interest regarding the Guardians, whose postseason shot still lies on the wrong side of 10% even after this one-sided deal. (Three veterans for nothing.) That doesn't mean it wasn't worth doing.

First of all, the Minnesota Twins have spent the entire season handling first-place status in the American League Central as if it were radioactive,