What is Waivers? Definition and Examples
Waivers is the MLB transaction process by which a team makes a player available to all other clubs, who can claim him in reverse order of standings before he can be removed from the 40-man roster or sent to the minors.
What is Waivers in Baseball?
Waivers is the league-wide permission process a team must clear before it can remove a player from its 40-man roster, outright him to the minors, or release him. When a club places a player on outright waivers, all 29 other major-league teams get a 48-hour window to claim him. If a team claims, it takes the player and assumes the remaining money on his contract; if nobody claims, the player has "cleared waivers" and the original club can proceed with the move. Waivers exist so a useful player cannot be quietly buried in the minors — every rival gets a shot first.
How the Waiver Claim Process Works
The mechanics center on claim priority, which runs in reverse order of winning percentage:
- The team with the worst record gets first claim.
- Among teams tied in winning percentage, priority goes to the club with the lower winning percentage in the previous season.
- The claiming team adds the player to its 40-man roster and inherits his salary obligations.
If multiple teams claim the same player, the lowest-ranked claimant wins. If the player clears (no claims), the original club may assign him outright to the minors — but veteran rights kick in:
- Players with 3+ years of service time, or who have been outrighted before, can reject the assignment and elect free agency.
- Players with 5+ years of service can always refuse a minor-league assignment.
Worked Example
Imagine a fringe reliever on a 40-man roster gets squeezed out when his team signs a free agent. The team places him on outright waivers. The league's worst club — say a 100-loss rebuilder — sits atop the claim order. If that team wants bullpen depth, it claims him, puts him on its 40-man, and pays the rest of his salary. If every team passes over 48 hours, he clears. Because he has four years of service time, he can either accept an outright assignment to Triple-A or reject it and become a free agent to seek a major-league job elsewhere.
Why Waivers Matters
Waivers governs roster churn. Contenders use it to scoop up cheap, controllable talent that better-positioned teams discard, while rebuilders leverage their high claim priority to acquire players for nothing but salary. For front offices, the risk of losing a player on waivers shapes 40-man roster decisions all winter — especially around the Rule 5 Draft and DFA deadlines. A player's service time also dictates whether the team controls the outcome or the player does.
Limitations and Common Misconceptions
Waivers is frequently confused with the trade-deadline "waiver trade" period that MLB eliminated in 2020 — there is no longer an August revocable-waiver trade market. It is also distinct from the Injured List and from outright release, which only happens after a player clears. And claiming is not free: the claiming team owes the full remaining contract, which is why expensive players often clear waivers untouched.
Related Terms
In Legends Deck: Roster-management mode mirrors these rules — when you cut a card from your 40-man, lower-ranked franchises get first claim in reverse-standings order, so stashing undervalued talent carries real risk. Knowing who you can sneak through waivers versus who will get claimed is part of building a durable franchise.