Cincinnati Reds Matt Harvey, Billy Hamilton claimed on revocable waivers

It certainly took awhile for there to be any significant news about the Cincinnati Reds players placed on waivers this August, but a pair of important details leaked out on Wednesday night. According to The Athletic’s Robert Murray, both Matt Harvey and Billy Hamilton have been claimed on revocable waivers by unknown teams, meaning the Reds now have to make decisions about each’s future with the club.

As revocable waivers go, any team who claims a player then has 48 hours to negotiate with the Reds to determine a) whether the claiming team simply takes said player and his current salary, b) whether there’s a trade that can be made to facilitate a player moving between the two teams, or c) whether the Reds simply pull back their player from waivers altogether, removing them from the August trade pool.

It’s rather unsurprising that either was claimed, to be honest. Harvey has been a decent enough pitcher since joining the Reds to suggest he can eat innings for a contender down the stretch and potentially fill a mid-rotation role in a playoff series, if need be - specifically if said contender’s rotation is a bit injured and tattered (/stares firmly at the Seattle Mariners). The same can be said for Hamilton, whose combination of elite CF defense and game-changing speed makes him the perfect late inning dual-weapon for a team who’s looking for every possible advantage in a short playoff series.

Pair those advantages with the fact that each is only due less that $2 million for the remainder of the year, and it’s hardly a bank-breaking move for an acquiring team.

Harvey, of course, will be a free agent at season’s end, meaning it’s highly likely he’ll be moved in this claim/deal. Hamilton, though, is under team control for the final time in 2019, meaning the Reds are slightly less inclined to cash-in on him now if he’s still in their plans for next season.

More as it develops, of course.