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Texas Rangers rumors: Alex Rios has been placed on waivers, according to Ken Rosenthal.
Normally, a player being placed on waivers in August isn't news. Almost every player gets placed on revocable waivers at some point in August, and if the player clears waivers, the player can be traded. If the player is claimed and the team that put the player on waivers pulls the player off waivers, the player stays with his original team and can't be traded until after the season.
In the case of Rios, however, this has some significance because Rios is a candidate to possibly get claimed on waivers, or if he isn't claimed, to be traded after he clears waivers.
For 47 hours after Rios has been put on waivers, he can be claimed by a team. If more than one team puts in a claim on Rios, then the priority for awarding the waiver claim goes worst-to-first record in the American League, then worst-to-first record in the National League.
So, one of four things can happen now with Rios and the Rangers:
1) We learn Thursday that Rios has not been claimed. In that case, the Rangers can trade him to any team.
2) We learn Thursday that Rios has been claimed by a team, and the Rangers then work out a deal between Thursday and Saturday (a 48 hour window) to trade him to the team that put in the claim. Rios then gets traded to the claiming team.
3) We learn Thursday that Rios has been claimed by a team, the Rangers and that team can't work out a deal in the 48 hour window, and the Rangers pull Rios back. The Rangers then keep Rios and cannot trade him until after the season.
4) We learn Thursday that Rios has been claimed by a team, the Rangers and that team can't work out a deal in the 48 hour window, and the Rangers decide they don't want Rios anyway, and let him go to the claiming team. That team then gets Rios and his contract without having to send any players to Texas, or anything of value, other than the $20,000 waiver fee.
So, this basically means the clock is now ticking, and on Thursday, we'll have a better idea what is going to happen with Alex Rios.
