The trade deadline has passed, but that doesn’t mean the Royals can’t add to the roster in a playoff push. Teams used to engineer “waiver trades” after the trade deadline, where a player could still be traded if he cleared waivers, meaning every team passed on a chance to claim him. That practice was ended a few years ago, but teams can still put a player on waivers, hoping another team will claim him and take on the rest of his salary.
If a team places a player on waivers, all other clubs have a chance to claim that player and his contract.