Just because the Major League Baseball trade deadline has come and gone doesn't mean the Phillies are finished making deals to improve for next year.
On Saturday, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reported that the Phillies put firstbaseman Ryan Howard, and pitchers A.J. Burnett, Antonio Bastardo, Kyle Kendrick, and Roberto Hernandez on waivers.
As previously reported, players go on waivers after the trade deadline, but that doesn't necessarily mean they will be moved. If a player clears waivers, he can be traded. If a player is claimed, he can be pulled back, or traded or awarded to the claiming team.
Howard signed a five-year, $125 million deal in 2010, and will earn $25 million in 2015 and 2016. Howard is batting .215 with 16 home runs and 63 RBIs so far this year. Howard has a player option for 2017 that can be bought out for $10 million. Honestly, the chances of Howard moving are slim, but they may not be true for the other Phillies' players listed on waivers.
Burnett, has drawn much interest at trade bait this season, is 6-11 with a 4.16 ERA and 124 strikeouts this season. Although those numbers are not that impressive, many teams are looking for starting pitchers to help them make it to the postseason.
In fact, just after the Phillies put Burnett on waivers, New York Yankee Pitcher David Phelps started complaining of elbow pain and had to leave the mound early on Sunday.
The Yankees are already struggling to keep their rotation healthy, and have lost some of their top guns already this year. CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova and Masahiro Tanaka have all gone down to injury already this season.
According to Yankee manager Joe Girardi, Phelps has been dealing with elbow inflammation since mid July.
The New York Post reported earlier this season that the Yank's don't have an interest in Burnett, but things may have changed since then. After all, beggars can't be choosers, and if they don't do something quick, they may lose any chance of making it into the playoffs.
