They were indeed ahead of the Twins in the waiver order.
I know that, you know that, Cleveland knows that, Minnesota knows that. A train conductor who follows baseball closely in Chattanooga knows that.
You are sticking to this... Teams will claim the players out of spite theory.
What Cleveland also knows that you seem to be missing is that if they passed, the Marlins would have probably taken them.
If the Marlins pass, the Reds probably would have taken them.
They were never going to be Minnesota Twins.
So Cleveland grabbed these players just to keep them out of Minnesota... Well... then they just threw 3 million dollars away for no reason.
Cleveland picked up these players because they are 5 games out and they think they have a chance.