Why Hasn't 2nd Wild Card Made MLB Waiver-Trade Window More Active?

Trading in Major League Baseball doesn't end until Aug. 31, but it sure feels like just about all the wheeling and dealing wrapped up back on July 31, doesn't it?

In part, that's because the non-waiver trade deadline brought not just a flurry but a full-on storm of moves, as 12 trades were completed between 18 different teams involving 37 players (and two draft picks). That was the most transaction action on deadline day since 1998, as Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com points out.

No wonder August's waiver-trading period has felt like a letdown by comparison.

It's not that there haven't been any swaps so since Aug. 1, because there have:

PLAYER	TRADED FROM	TRADED TO	TRADED FOR
Josh Willingham	Twins	Royals	Jason Adam
Roberto Hernandez	Philliies	Dodgers	2 PTBNL
Jacob Turner	Marlins	Cubs	Tyler Bremer and Jose Arias
Gordon Beckham	White Sox	Angels	PTBNL
Kevin Correia	Twins	Dodgers	PTBNL
Vinnie Pestano	Indians	Angels	Mike Clevinger
Geovany Soto	Rangers	Athletics	Cash
Brett Jackson	Cubs	Diamondbacks	Blake Cooper

That's eight moves, which actually isn't far behind the 11 that happened last August.

What should be immediately discernible from the table, however, is that the trades just aren't all that exciting or impactful. Certainly not when the biggest name to change jerseys is Josh Willingham.

At least last August, fairly well-known players like Alex Rios, Justin Morneau and Marlon Byrd found new homes.

And of course, there's still some residue remaining from that memorable, shocking August 2012 blockbuster when the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers essentially remade their rosters in one fell—and financially monstrous—swoop.

Matt York/Associated Press

A waiver trade that big, both in names and dollars, is unlikely to happen again any time soon, if ever. But why has August been such a bummer this year?

It's not that there isn't a need or demand for pitchers and position players, especially with so many clubs still in the hunt because of the second wild card in each league. In fact, that's the biggest reason for the inactivity this month.

Through Wednesday's games, only 11 teams—five in the AL and six in the NL—could safely be considered completely out of the running for a playoff spot, depending on how one classifies the Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds.

Because so many teams are still in it, there aren't nearly as many options as there might have been in the past, when only four teams in each league made it to October.

What's more, the few clubs that are out of it aren't exactly swimming in available players who might make an impact for a contender. That's why those teams aren't any good in the first place, right?

The other thing to remember, and it's related to the above, is that this remains a seller's market. That means the teams who would consider trading players away have the ability to ask for a haul, whether their players have passed through waivers entirely or were claimed by a specific team.

The only case when that doesn't apply is if a club views trading a particular player as a salary dump. That is more or less what happened when the Chicago White Sox sent second baseman Gordon Beckham—who hit just .221/.263/.336 for them despite a $4.175 million salary this year—to the Los Angeles Angels for the ubiquitous Player To Be Named Later.

Beyond that, a number of players were put on waivers already, only to be claimed and then pulled back by their team, which eliminates them from being traded for the rest of the season. This reportedly is what happened to, among others, Cole Hamels, Yunel Escobar and Chad Qualls.

Same goes for Byrd and Morneau, as Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports, otherwise those two players could have been involved in a waiver deal for a second consecutive year.

JACK DEMPSEY/Associated Press

That's a formula for an inactive waiver-trade period.

As Brewers general manager Doug Melvin told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the prospects of his club making any last-minute additions via a waiver swap, "I'm not totally encouraged by it."

There isn't an easy fix to make Augusts of the future more trade-filled, either. Not unless there just so happen to be fewer contenders in a given season.

One possibility, though, could involve moving the non-waiver trade deadline back from July 31 into August, say Aug. 15 or Aug. 31. It's not like that hasn't been done before: Back in 1986, the deadline was moved to its current July 31 date—after six decades of being set at June 15.

As for the final days of this year's deadline, which remains Aug. 31, there still are some names to keep tabs on.

The following players already have cleared waivers, according to MLB Trade Rumors, meaning they can be traded:

PLAYER	TEAM	POSITION	REMAINING SALARY
Bartolo Colon	Mets	RHP	2014: $1.5 M; 2015: $11 M
A.J. Burnett	Phillies	RHP	2014: $1.25 M; 2015: mutual option
Alex Rios	Rangers	OF	2014: $2.1 M; 2015: $14.0 M option ($2.0 M buyout)
Jonathan Papelbon	Phillies	RHP	2014: $2.2 M; 2015: $13.0 M; 2016: $13.0 M option
Scott Feldman	Astros	RHP	2014: $2.0 M; 2015: $10.0 M; 2016: $8.0 M
Trevor Cahill	Diamondacks	RHP	2014: $1.3 M; 2015: $12.0 M; 2016: $13.0 M option ($0.3 M buyout)

Will any of them be traded between now and Sunday? Quite possibly, if an interested—or desperate—suitor is willing to pay the price.

Will others not on the above list get moved? Almost certainly.

Because even though this August hasn't been quite as gloriously chaotic as July was—and clearly won't be in the end—one thing should be clear: As long as teams can make trades, trades will be made.

Statistics are accurate as of Aug. 28 and come from MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs.com, except where otherwise noted.

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