Major League Pickleball's second waiver wire period started without a single transaction at Premier Level on Thursday, but the Challenger Level period gave us plenty to analyze with six transactions.

Before we get to the comings and goings, we need to touch on the two trades that occured prior to waivers.

Trades

• Wednesday, August 7th: The LA Mad Drops traded Blaine Hovenier to the Las Vegas Night Owls for Anderson Scarpa and cash considerations.

Hovenier played the Mid-Season Tournament, MLP SLC, and MLP KC for the Mad Drops as an IR replacement. He proved he belonged in MLP and Vegas made the trade to pick him up. I like it for him, but I hate it for Scarpa.

• Thursday, August 8th: The LA Mad Drops subsequently waived Anderson Scarpa, making him eligible to be picked up in the second waiver period. 

Scarpa was not picked up, however, which is strange considering he is a good Challenger Level player.

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The Dink PickleballErik Tice

• Thursday, August 8th: The California Black Bears traded Rafa Hewett to the Las Vegas Night Owls for Mo Alhouni and cash considerations.

The Bears seem to have given up on the year, as they are too far back in the standings to have a realistic shot at the playoffs. So they collect more money and let Rafa go to a team that's contending. Good deal all around for everyone involved, except for Mo Alhouni.

Waiver wire transactions

Round 1, Pick 1 - California Black Bears - Last place in Challenger level at 0.86 PPM 

• Added: Chris Haworth Waived: Mo Alhouni

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The Dink PickleballErik Tice

Alhouni was on the Bears for approximately 12 hours before being waived. Haworth is easily top-five in the world in singles right now, and the Black Bears are giving him his first chance in MLP. With his ground strokes, I believe there is a chance Haworth could make a similar impact as Quang Duong has with the Ranchers. We just haven’t seen Haworth much in doubles yet, so this will be entertaining.

New roster for the Black Bears: Chris Haworth, Genie Erokhina, Brandon French, Amanda Hendry

Round 1, Pick 2 - Florida Smash - 9th at 1.29 ppm

• Added: Christa Gecheva Waived: Tammy Emmrich

The Smash are in ninth place and needed to swing for the fences. Gecheva is small but mighty and brings a different look to the Smash. She lives in Florida – like many other members of the team – so she can practice with Martina Frantova and Travis Rettenmaier. Gecheva has played MLP before.

Round 1, Pick 3 - Bay Area Breakers - 8th at 1.31 PPM

• Added: Martin Emmrich Waived: DJ Young

Martin was traded from Brooklyn to Texas and subsequently waived in the first waiver period. He played so well in MLP Kansas City – substituting for Jack Munro with the Chicago Slice – it seemed like a foregone conclusion that some team would pick him up. He's very steady and brings a ton of lefty power and deception with his game.

New roster for the Breakers: Collin Shick, Martin Emmrich, Jill Braverman, Allyce Jones

Round 1, Pick 7 - Frisco Pandas - 4th at 1.71 PPM

• Added: Tammy Emmrich Waived: Alli Phillips

This one surprised me a little bit. Frisco has played the least amount of regular season matches (seven) and are in fifth place. However, I do think Emmrich is an immediate upgrade. 

A side note ... I think the MLP waiver system is flawed. No other sport allows someone to get dropped and then the worst team doesn’t get a chance at picking them up. Seems to me Emmrich should have at least been blocked from being picked up in this round.

New roster for the Pandas: John Cincola, Stefan Auvergne, Tammy Emmrich, Ewa Radzikowska

Round 2, Pick 2 - Florida Smash - 9th at 1.29 PPM

• Added: Donald Young Waived: Yates Johnson

I think the Smash were thinking along the lines of "we need to hit a home run and we are swinging big."

Yates is way more reliable and steady than Donald Young. However, just like Chris Haworth, we don’t really know what Young's doubles game looks like. Young and Travis Rettenmaier (team owner, captain, GM, player, etc.) are both Proton sponsored players and good friends. This trade makes sense.

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The Dink PickleballJason Flamm

New roster for the Smash: Travis Rettenmaier, Donald Young, Martina Frantova, Christa Gecheva

Round 2, Pick 6 - Atlanta Bouncers - 5th at 1.67 PPM

• Added: Emily Cederquist Waived: Angie Walker

I thought for sure Cederquist was the best woman available going into this waiver period. Good on the Bouncers for capitalizing on upgrading their women's team, reuniting Cederquist and Barr. They will be a formidable duo.

New roster for the Bouncers: Jaume Martinez Vich, Todd Fought, Susannah Barr, Emily Cederquist