Why the 2024 trade deadline might not be the end of player movement - ESPN

A day after baseball's trade deadline, it might seem as though your team's roster is largely set — MLB's deadline was hardened a few years back, with teams now restricted from making swaps in August. But if last summer's transactions are any indication, that shift doesn't necessarily mean players won't change teams next month — and perhaps your favorite contender could benefit.

You can give the Los Angeles Angels the credit — or the blame — for this industry shift. «It's a copycat sport,» said one executive, «and I bet you'll see more teams doing the same thing [the Angels] did.»

To review: Last July, the Angels made an aggressive — some might say reckless — charge before the July trade deadline after owner Arte Moreno decided he would not trade Shohei Ohtani. Angels GM Perry Minasian, understanding that he couldn't retreat and flip assets for prospects, moved to upgrade his team with a series of trades. He added Lucas Giolito to the rotation, Reynaldo Lopez for his bullpen and the Colorado Rockies' Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron to his group of position players.

The Angels promptly lost their first seven games of August, dooming their season; on Aug. 23, they were six games below .500.

What happened next was largely unprecedented: In an effort to reduce their payroll below the luxury tax threshold, the Angels placed six veterans on waivers, including some they had just acquired — Giolito, Lopez and Grichuk, along with relievers Matt Moore and Dominic Leone, and outfielder Hunter Renfroe. After that, every contender had a choice: place a claim on a player, or risk seeing them snapped up by teams lower in the waiver pecking order.

Players on waivers are awarded to the team with the worst record that places a claim, and last