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My general attitude about waiver losses is that they're often over-rated, described as losing somebody for nothing, but obviously the something you want is a roster spot, and the something you lose is a marginal, utterly replaceable figure. And sometimes you're claiming talent just as readily.
Sometimes.
Omar-era losses via waivers I was able to find:
[list][*]April 1, 2005: Seattle Mariners claimed Wilson Valdez of the New York Mets on waivers.
This hap'd right at the roster crunch at the start of Omar's first season. Valdez had himself been claimed by the Mets from Chicago the two days before. He would eventually ricochet back to the Mets in 2009, acquired via a cash transaction.
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[*]March 28, 2008: Atlanta Braves claimed Ruben Gotay of the New York Mets on waivers.
This also came at spring training's end. Veterans Damion Easley and Marlon Anderson were kept as the infield backups. Ruben would put up a reserve-infielderly, but decent .665 OPS (77 OPS+) in 88 games that year for Atlanta. Working far above replacement level, he found himself replaced, and was done in the big leagues. (Easley did well for the Mets that year, but Anderson was a disaster --- one of the small disasters that gets overlooked in the post-mortem on the that year's Mets team.)
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[*]July 3, 2008: Cincinnati Reds claimed Andy Phillips of the New York Mets on waivers.
We also signed Andy Green about the same time, so who knew who was who? Phillips had played only a few games for the Mets that year, and was waived to make room for Tony Armas. They replaced him a few days later with the only briefly able Argenis Reyes. Phillips would do modestly well for Cincy down the stretch, but as an infielder with a defensible bat for the position (hello, Justin Turner) but no range, he found no major league home after that season.
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[*]April 22, 2009: Texas Rangers claimed Darren O'Day of the New York Mets on waivers.
This one wasn't painless. The Mets needed a starter and added Nelson Figueroa. Figgy had a mediocre start and was himself outrighted before the game. Pissed off, he exercised his right of refusal and became a free agent, only to re-sign with the Mets three days later. O'Day, of course, rocked the Casbah out of the pen for the Rangers the next two years. The ENTIRE CASBAH.
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[*]March 17, 2010: Cleveland Indians claimed Anderson Hernandez of the New York Mets on waivers.
Mets try and get sneaky and push him through 10 days before the roster crunch. NO WAY! sez the Indians. Hernandez would play 54 games that year for Cleveland and Houston, and hit at sub-Ordonezian levels for both, but, well, Chris Woodward and Luis Castillo weren't exactly providing the punch for the the 2010 Mets. The vacuum did open the door for a 20-year-old Ruben Tejada, however.
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[*]April 7, 2010: Philadelphia Phillies claimed Nelson Figueroa of the New York Mets on waivers.
This was totally uncool, but certainly gave Figgie a little of the respect he craved (and deserved, to an extent). He rode the same shuttle for Philadelphia and Houston the next two years, though. Figgie hit the waiver wire at the end of spring to make room for... Jenrry Mejia. (Omar was perhaps starting to look a little desperate at this point.)
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[*]August 22, 2010: Los Angeles Dodgers claimed Rod Barajas of the New York Mets on waivers.
Barajas wasn't waived in a roster crunch, but rather as the result of a desperate slump that had lasted the whole summer (after a pulsating spring), and the Mets were more-or-less happy to shed his considerable weight and modest salary. Throb found a big chunk of his stroke upon joining his hometown team, however. Jesus Feliciano took Throb's roster spot, but it coulda been anybody.[/*:m][/list:u]
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