As a player traded in the middle of a multiyear deal, new Blue Jays third baseman Scott Rolen has the right to opt for free agency or demand a trade after one year with Toronto. This right has since been eliminated but players who signed their deals before October ’06 are grandfathered in. Troy Glaus has the same right.
The stipulations make it less likely for players to opt for free agency or demand a trade. If the player chooses free agency he has to wait until mid-March to leave and also give up three years of free agent eligibility. If he chooses a trade he can only block six teams. That said, we have seen this happen before when a guy just wants out. The most recent example I can think of is Javier Vazquez in November of ’05.
It seems the Jays still expect to have Rolen through 2010, and he’d have to really hate it there to back out of his deal.
