What does it mean to clear waivers?

At this time of the year, players under contract that do not have options are usually sent through the waiver process.  The waiver process lasts three business days at which point the player can be claimed by one or more teams.  The Wikipedia best explains the process if a player is claimed

– arrange a trade with the claiming team for that player within two business days of the claim; or

– rescind the request and keep the player on its major league roster, effectively canceling the waiver; or

– do nothing and allow the claiming team to assume the player’s existing contract, pay the waiving team a waiver fee, and place the player on its active major league roster.

The waiver wire is traditionally a secret, but player names do get leaked out to the media especially during the month of August when most players are sent through waivers to make them trade eligible. Many of the teams have their 25-man rosters set or nearly set as of now, so it’s likely that most players waived will go through the entire process and be sent to the Minors.

So with that said, here’s a list of a few notable players that cleared waivers today:

– Chicago Cubs catcher Max Ramirez clears waivers and was sent to Triple-A Iowa (ESPNChicago.com)

– New York Mets INF/OF Nick Evans has cleared waivers and has been outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo. (Adam Rubin, ESPNNewYork.com)

– Arizona Diamondbacks Tony Abreu has cleared waivers and will head to Triple-A. (Kirk Gibson via Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic)

– Kansas City Royals OF Gregor Blanco cleared waivers and will be sent to Triple-A Omaha. (Bob Dutton, Kansas City Star)

– New York Mets INF Luis Hernandez cleared waivers and will have three days to decide if he wants to accept a Minor League assignment. (Anthony DiComo, MLB.com)

– Baltimore Orioles right-handed pitcher Rick VandenHurk cleared waivers. (Jeff Zrebiec, Baltimore Sun)

– San Francisco Giants place first baseman Travis Ishikawa on waivers. (John Shae, San Francisco Chronicle)