Red Sox Place Beckett, Gonzalez On Waivers
BOSTON (CBS) - Starting pitcher Josh Beckett and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez were placed on waivers by the Red Sox, but no deals are expected to be made for either.
Teams placing players on waivers happens quite often, even if they have no intentions of trading the player. If Beckett and Gonzalez go unclaimed, as expected, Boston would be able to make a trade involving either as if it were before the non-waiver trade deadline.
Earlier this month, both Carl Crawford and Nick Punto cleared waivers for Boston.
While Beckett was involved in some trade talk prior to the July 31st deadline, CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman tweeted Thursday morning that "competing executives don't expect him to be claimed."
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Beckett is owed nearly $16 million per season through 2014, so it's unlikely anyone would place a claim for the pitcher and his contract.
Heyman said there is a chance a team puts in a claim on Gonzalez, but unlikely the Red Sox would want to trade their slugging first baseman.
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Should a team claim Beckett or Gonzalez, the Red Sox have three potential options: They can let the player and their remaining contract go to the team that claimed them, complete a trade with the team that claimed them, or pull the player back off waivers all together.
