As the final hours before the trade deadline ticked down this week, an executive for one contender spoke confidently about opportunities to come. "There will be a lot of deals [in August]," he said, "because guys will get through waivers and teams will want to save money."
The Mets' trade of Jay Bruce to the Indians a year ago was a classic example of this. Bruce was in the midst of an excellent season in which he would hit 36 homers, with a .275 batting average, and he passed through waivers without anyone placing a claim.