Note to potential Blue Jays waiver claim: You will soon be removed from roster

      The Toronto Blue Jays have gained some attention as they have claimed several players off waivers since the season started. All teams use waivers as a measurement of the talent they have on the bottom part of their 40 man roster. If a player removed from another team can help a team, it is the reason players are claimed. All teams have interest in upgrading their rosters. The Jays drew some negative reviews when they claimed Casper Wells on waivers from the Seattle Mariners only to designate him for assignment. Wells traveled from Seattle to Toronto, found out he was removed from the 40 man roster and that the Blue Jays had ten days to release or trade him. He spent the better part of a month in limbo and did not play during that time. So the question is asked, why would a team claim a player on waivers if they had no interest keeping him?
    When asked about the odd amount of waiver claims, General Manager Alex Anthopoulos says he is simply trying to add depth to his farm system, particularly in AAA. While the reason makes sense, some players logically cannot be sent to the minor leagues and taken off the 40 man roster. That is Anthopoulos' 100% intention. While the effort is appreciated, it is an insult for some players to have to go through this process, when they belong on a 40 man roster. That is the reason players have ten days to be traded, claimed or released.
    Since March 27, the Jays have made seven waiver claims. None of the players are on the 25 man roster and two are on the 40 man. Since October 17th of last year, another ten players were claimed on waivers by the Blue Jays and none of them are on the 40 man roster.
    Towards the end of October last year, the Jays claimed OF Scott Cousins, C Bobby Wilson, RHP David Herndon and LHP Scott Maine. All were DFA'd and none are with the organization any more. Between December and the end of February, the Jays claimed RHP Mickey Storey, 1B Russ Canzler, RHP Chad Beck (a former Blue Jays pitcher), LHP Tommy Hottovy and 1B Lars Anderson. They had better luck with their decision to DFA all claimed players in this instance. Though Anderson and Canzler are no longer with the organization, Storey was outrighted to AAA Buffalo, while Beck and Hottovy were outrighted to AA New Hampshire as all three are in the Jays system.
    The Blue Jays are hitting .286 with their player claims since the start of spring training. Two claims, 1B Clint Robinson (Pirates) and RHP Todd Redmond (Reds) are currently on the Blue Jays 40 man roster. Two others, RHP Edgar Gonzalez and LHP Aaron Laffey, made brief appearances and were DFA'd. Gonzalez is still pitching for Buffalo and the Jays will likely try to get Laffey through waivers.
     The other players claimed, RHP Alex Burnett, RHP Guillermo Moscoso and OF Wells honestly had no business being claimed with the intention of trying to pass them through waivers. That has led to the recent discussion about the waiver process. If the Jays had interest in any of the previous three, they'd better have had a roster spot for them. If not, it was a waste of time for not only the players, but the Blue Jays organization and any other team in MLB that could have used the player on their 40 man.
    Anthopoulos has added five players to his farm system since the end of last season. Two more have made MLB appearances for Toronto. So has it been that much of a failure? No, but just so every player claimed on waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays knows... you will be designated for assignment and removed from the 40 man roster.