BOSTONOn Wednesday, the Red Sox placed right-hander Josh Beckett and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, along with several other players on trade waivers. The moves are pretty standard at this time of the year. Teams can place up to seven players a day on waivers, and most teams will place mostif not allof their entire rosters on waivers at some point during the month.
The move allows teams to help gauge interest in players by other teams. If a player clears waivers, a team can trade him to any other team. If he is claimed, the original team could try to work out a deal with the claiming team, or pull the player back. A claiming team would be responsible for a players entire contract.
While news of Beckett and Gonzalez being placed on waivers generated a great deal of buzz, it is unlikely either player would be moved at this point.
Beckett still has two years remaining on his contract and is owed more than 32 million. Combine that with his poor performance and equally poor reputation and it is unlikely a team would claim him. He is also a 10-5 player (10 years in the major leagues, five with one team) and can veto a trade if he chooses.
Gonzalez has six years remaining on his contract after 2012 and is owed more than 133 million at this point.