According to Erik Boland of Newsday, the Yankees have placed center fielder Harrison Bader on waivers. As with the Angels' string of waiver placements,
New York hopes that another team will claim the remaining money of a player who will be eligible for free agency in a few months.
To be clear, they are irreversible waivers, either outright or release waivers. The former system of August waiver trades,
in which a team may revoke a placement if another club filed a claim and the two sides couldn't agree on a trade, was phased out in 2019.
The claiming team with the highest waiver priority as of Thursday morning will acquire Bader while bearing the remaining arbitration salary.
(Waiver priority is determined by the inverse order of the MLB standings and is not league-specific.) Aside from salary relief, the Yankees will receive no other compensation.
In the unlikely event that he goes unclaimed, he will be able to become a free agent while keeping his remaining salary, although he may choose to finish the season with New York.
It's almost certainly the end of Bader's year-plus stint in the Bronx. Last summer, he was acquired by New York in a stunning one-for-one trade that sent Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis.
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