It came via a rather casual tweet from Peter Gammons, suggesting the news is hardly surprising, but it is worth mentioning: Twins OF Josh Willingham, according to Gammons, is on trade waivers.
Saturday is the waiver trade deadline in order for a player to be eligible for postseason play.
Much of the Twins talk has focused on Justin Morneau, but Willingham -- who has slumped through in injury-plagued season after a smashing Twins debut in 2012 -- is intriguing as well. He has one year and $7 million left on his contract after this season.
It is important to remember that trade waivers are not, of course, the same thing as the waivers a team uses to release a player. What this means, as La Velle reminded us a couple weeks ago (we'll just conveniently replace Morneau with Willingham):
• If no team has claims (Willingham), the Twins could trade him to any team they wish.
• If a team claims (Willingham), the Twins have 48 hours to discuss a trade with that team and strike a deal, much like the Rangers did when they landed outfielder Alex Rios from the White Sox.
• The Twins could just let (Willingham) go to the claiming team, which would have to assume his salary for the rest of his contract.
• And the Twins could just pull (Willingham) off waivers and not trade him at all.
