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If you note any errors in the below information, please email/PM me and I will research and correct this.

WAIVERS AND OOTP6

There have been many questions about how exactly the waiver system works in OOTP6. This will attempt to answer those. But before we begin, please keep in mind that the waiver system in the game does NOT follow the same rules as the waiver system in the real MLB. Obviously, there are many similarities, but there are also some key differences. The following also assumes that you are playing with all options ON.

HOW DO WAIVERS WORK?

Generally speaking, you place a player on waivers when you want to remove him from a roster. It can be when you are just removing him from the 40-man roster, the active roster or your entire roster (by trade). Sometimes the game will notify you that you need to need to place a player on waivers to perform a transaction and will do the procedure for you if you affirm the notification. I would suggest going this route for items #1 or #2 below. For item #4, you can simply drag the player to the waiver section of the transaction screen directly.

Once this is done, the player will show up on the Waiver Wire for all to see and claim. He will remain there for a set number of days determined by your league setup. Two things can happen during this time. Either the player will go unclaimed and will clear waivers or the player will be claimed by some team. When a player clears waivers, the game will allow you to perform the intended transaction. However, if the player is claimed, something entirely different takes place. Assuming you can (i.e. the waivers were revocable), you can pull the player off waivers if the waiver period hasn't expired. If you don't or can't, the player will be signed by the team with the worst record, favoring teams in your own league. During the first month of the season, the prior year's records are used to determine this.

Please note that the actual transaction takes place in between days. So the player will show up on some screens as still on waivers with 0 days remaining until this process occurs. Once the process is complete, claimed players will switch teams while unclaimed players will say CLEARED! next to their names.

WHEN DO I NEED WAIVERS?

There are four cases in the game in which waivers are wanted or necessary:
1) Removing a player from the 40-man roster
2) Sending a player out of options to the minor leagues
3) After-deadline trading
4) Salary dumping/ decoy/ etc.

In each case, there is a certain result depending on whether the player clears waivers or not. Let's take a look at these in some more detail in a bit. But first...

TYPES OF WAIVERS

There are two types of waivers in the game. The type of waiver that is used is determined by the situation as noted in the four cases just a little ways below this.

Revocable Waivers: If a player is placed on revocable waivers, you can pull him off of waivers before the waiver period ends even if it is after another team has claimed him.

Irrevocable Waivers: You probably guessed it, but a player placed on irrevocable waivers cannot be removed if another team claims him. If that happens, you will lose the player. Please note that you can always remove a player from waivers if the waiver deadline hasn't passed and no team has yet claimed the player.

REMOVING A PLAYER FROM THE 40-MAN ROSTER:

There comes a time when a manager wants to remove a player from the 40-man roster, whether it is to clear some space to add a player in the Rule 5 draft or to protect someone from the Rule 5 draft. In any case, keep in mind that the change won't happen instantly. It's true that there are "tricks" in which to get this done more quickly. You can release a player and he won't have to clear waivers, for example. Plus, if you make a trade the players that you acquire are not automatically added to the 40-man even if they were on the 40-man for their old team. However, let's assume that you want to do things the traditional way. Well, you'll have to send the player through revocable waivers. One thing to note is that some players will refuse this move. When you try to remove someone from the 40-man roster, you'll get a notice that "The player will accept this assignment" or "The player would refuse this assignment. Either keep him on the 40-man roster or release him." Assuming the player accepts, he'll be sent through waivers. If the player is claimed, you can take him off waivers, but he'll remain on your 40-man roster. You can also let him go to the other team, which will clear the roster spot for you. If the player clears, you can remove the player from your roster just like you wanted to.

SENDING A PLAYER OUT OF OPTIONS TO THE MINORS:

A player starts his career in OOTP with three option years. Since this focuses on waivers, I won't get into how and when players use up option years. When the players options are all used though, you won't be able to send him to the minors again until he clears waivers. Even then, some players will refuse this move anyway and you'll be forced to keep them on your active roster, trade them, or release them. Assuming that the player accepts the move, he'll first have to clear irrevocable waivers. He'll have to clear waivers even if he is staying on your 40-man roster. Now, this is a dangerous game and you'll want to make extra sure that you don't mind the possibility of losing the player, because once a team claims the player he will be leaving your team when the waiver period is up. If, however, the player clears waivers, you can move him right down to the minors and he'll stay on your 40-man roster.

AFTER-DEADLINE TRADING:

(I haven't tested this too extensively, but the tests I have done have led to the following explanation)

After July 31st, there is only one way to trade players. All of the players that are to be traded must clear waivers. Now, to get this to work, you will need to line up the actual trade first in the game. Don't try to use the team transaction screens, because the game has no way of knowing what your purpose is for placing a player on waivers from there. Once the sides agree on the players involved, you'll be informed that the trade can only be completed once the players clear waivers. Now, this works a little differently than other cases. Regardless of roster or contract status, every player involved on either side of the trade has to clear waivers. If any of the players is claimed by any team, the trade will be cancelled and players will stay on their respective teams. If the waiver period passes and all players clear, the trade will be processed as planned. You may be thinking "Gee, how will any trade go through since my opponents can simply claim a player to cancel it?" Well, my suggestion would be to send several decoy players through waivers at the same time. Teams won't want to claim everyone, and if they claim the wrong player, they could end up with a hefty contract to pay or players that are worthless to them.

SALARY DUMPING/ DECOYS/ ETC.

Sometimes, you don't have to put a player on waivers, but you may want to put a player on waivers for some purpose.

Salary Dumping: Waivers can be a good way to get rid of the salary of a high-priced player if you don't want to pay to release him since a claiming team picks up the tab. In fact, I would recommend always putting any player that you plan to release that has a contract on waivers first. If he's claimed, you'll save yourself some money.

Decoys: As you read above, it can be difficult to get a trade to go through after the deadline. By sending several players through waivers in addition to those being traded, you can increase the odds that your players will clear.

Judging Trade Interest: Sometimes you just want to see if there is any interest in a player. By putting the player on waivers, you can see if any team would like him. You can take the player off waivers (don't forget to do it before the waiver period runs out!) and then use the information to possibly negotiate a deal with the interested team