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Back in April, we launched a new mobile version of MLBTR.  The change to mobile-friendly was made to improve load time and user experience, and also because Google basically required it.

In looking at your survey responses, I noticed that some readers preferred the old desktop-style, full post MLBTR format on their mobile devices.  Fortunately, we have a Desktop View button that brings back the old layout.  Just go to the MLBTradeRumors.com homepage on your mobile device, scroll all the way to the bottom, and tap the button that says Desktop:

Your preference should be remembered the next time you visit.

(Side note: if you occasionally get the mobile version of MLBTR on a desktop computer, that’s a bug.  Please contact us if that happens).

Now that the July 31 trade deadline has passed, teams can still make trades, only with more restrictions than before. Updating Jeff Todd’s post last year on the topic, here’s a look at how August trades work. This information has, of course, been shared elsewhere, most notably in an article by ESPN’s Jayson Stark from all the way back in 2004, and in greater detail at Cub Reporter. Since the rules surrounding August deals are confusing, though, they’re worth reviewing here.

• In August, a big-league player must pass through revocable waivers before his team can trade him without restriction. These waivers last 47 hours. If no one claims him in that period, his team can trade him anywhere.
• If a player is claimed, his team can do one of three things. It can trade the player to the claiming team, revoke the waiver request (in which case the player will remain with his original team), or simply allow the claiming team to take the player and his salary (although a player with no-trade rights can block this from happening).
• A recent example of an August trade that developed from a waiver claim was the Brewers’ acquisition of Jonathan Broxton from the Reds last year. The Brewers claimed Broxton and ultimately got him from the Reds for two players to be named later, who turned out to be Kevin Shackelford and Barrett Astin. An example of a claim that didn’t result in a trade occurred last year, when the Cubs claimed Cole Hamels. The two sides couldn’t strike a deal, the Phillies revoked their waiver request, and Hamels remained in Philadelphia. Examples of teams simply letting players go via revocable waivers are more rare, but in 2009, the White Sox claimed Alex Rios from the Blue Jays, who simply let him go to Chicago without a trade. The White Sox were thus responsible for all of the approximately $62MM remaining on Rios’ contract.
• A team has 48.5 hours to trade a claimed player, and can only negotiate with the team awarded the claim on him.
• It’s common for teams to place players on revocable waivers, and their having done so does not necessarily mean they have serious plans to trade them. As Stark points out, teams commonly use waivers of certain players purely as smokescreens to disguise which players they really are interested in trading. In fact, sometimes teams place their entire rosters on waivers.
• If more than one team claims a player, priority is determined by worst record to best record in the league of the waiving team, followed by worst record to best record in the other league. For example, if an NL team places a player on revocable waivers, the team with the NL’s worst record will get first priority on claims, followed by every other team in the NL from worst to best, followed by AL teams from worst to best.
• If a team pulls a player back from waivers once, it cannot do so again in August. So if a team places a player on waivers for a second time, those waivers will be non-revocable.
• Players not on 40-man rosters are eligible to be traded at any time without passing through waivers.
• A player on the disabled list can only pass through waivers if his minimum period of inactivity has passed and he is healthy and able to play at his accustomed level.
• Teams can still make trades in September, but players acquired after August 31 can’t play in the postseason.

Players traded last August included Broxton, Adam Dunn, Alejandro De Aza, Kelly Johnson, Geovany Soto, Gordon Beckham, Josh Willingham, Kevin Correia and Jacob Turner. There weren’t any blockbusters last year, although it’s not impossible for major deals to happen in August. The Dodgers acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett in a gigantic trade in 2012, for example.

Here’s a roundup of recaps from yesterday’s trade deadline.

• The Blue Jays and Royals are the biggest winners of last month’s trades, while the Padres are the biggest losers, CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes. All three choices were probably fairly easy ones, with the Blue Jays landing Troy Tulowitzki and David Price, the Royals grabbing Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist, and the Padres mostly standing pat. Further down both lists is where things get interesting, though — Heyman notes that the Phillies and Athletics did well in their trades of veterans, and that the Dodgers should have done better than Mat Latos and Alex Wood for all the payroll they’re taking on.
• The Astros, Royals, Phillies and Tigers, among other teams, deserve credit for their deadline deals, Yahoo! Sports’ Jeff Passan writes. The Padres, meanwhile, did poorly. To expect the Padres to make the playoffs at this point “borders on lunacy,” Passan writes.
• Nine of the top 100 prospects in baseball changed teams at the deadline, MLB.com’s Jim Callis writes. Daniel Norris (headed from the Blue Jays to the Tigers in the David Price trade) tops the list followed by Brett Phillips (from the Astros to the Brewers in the Carlos Gomez deal) and Jose Peraza (who went from the Braves to the Dodgers in the Mat Latos deal). Callis’ take on the Dodgers’ 13-player trade is quite different from Heyman’s — Callis writes that the Dodgers got plenty of big-league help in the deal while also getting a very impressive prospect in Peraza.
• Prospects among MLB’s top 50 include Norris, Phillips, Peraza, Hector Olivera (who went from the Dodgers to the Braves), Jeff Hoffman (Blue Jays to Rockies in the Troy Tulowitzki deal) and Jake Thompson (Rangers to Phillies in the Cole Hamels deal), J.J. Cooper of Baseball America writes.

Take a quick break from all the trade deadline action and head to DraftKings.com right now to take part in this $135K MLB daily fantasy contest! That prize pool includes a $10K payout for the winner, and the best 11,025 entries are all guaranteed to win cash. It’s just three bucks to enter, and first-time users can join the action for free!

The contest goes live tonight — Friday, July 31st at 7:05pm EST — so go make your picks right now. It’s fun to play: choose two starting pitchers and eight position players, while staying within your $50K of cap space, to make the best lineup possible.

Here’s who I’m picking for tonight’s action:

Don’t wait: before the next trade rumors hit, head over to DraftKings right now for a chance to win a piece of that $135K pool!

Head over to DraftKings.com right now to participate in another exciting daily fantasy contest. There’s a $120K prize pool to be claimed, with $10K going to the winner. The top 9,570 entries are guaranteed to win money. It’s just $3 to participate, and new users can enter for free!

The contest goes live Friday, July 24 at 7:05pm EST, so it’s time to get your picks in. Just spread your $50K salary cap space between eight position players and two pitchers to put together the best lineup possible. Here’s the lineup I’m rolling with for tonight’s action:

Signing up is easy, and choosing a lineup can be done in a matter of minutes. Head over to DraftKings now for your chance to take home part of the $120K prize pool!

Recently, MLB Trade Rumors launched a brand new official Instagram account: @TradeRumorsMLB.  Each day, we’ll be sharing conversation-inspiring images about the hottest topics in baseball.  From there, we invite you to give us a like, weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section, and even share the link with a friend.

Yesterday’s image highlighted a trio of notable shortstop trade candidates in Troy Tulowitzki, Jean Segura, and Alexei Ramirez.  Today’s Instagram picture offers a look at center field trade candidates Carlos Gomez, Cameron Maybin, and Charlie Blackmon.

And if you’re anxious to get a look at newly-acquired Astros pitcher Scott Kazmir in his new digs, we’ve got you covered there, too.

So, what are you waiting for?  If you don’t have an Instagram account, this is the perfect excuse to sign up and get one.  Follow us on Instagram today!

After last week’s National League trade deadline preview, MLBTR’s Steve Adams joins host Jeff Todd to cover the American League, discussing how every team might approach the trade deadline. We’ve seen Scott Kazmir change hands since the recording late last night, but there’s still plenty to digest with trade season officially underway. Will the Yankees make significant additions? How do the Royals deal with their injuries and seize the opportunity? Click play for that and more …

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams helps Jeff survey the entire National League, looking at pieces for every team that could be moving at the trade deadline. How aggressive should the Mets be? Should A.J. Preller and the Padres hit the reset button? Is it time for the Cubs to make a significant trade acquisition, or are they better off waiting until 2016? These topics and more on this week’s episode.

Click here to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, and please leave a review! The podcast is also available via Stitcher at this link.

The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast runs weekly on Thursday afternoons.