Ian Kinsler Won’t Waive No-Trade Clause Without Extension

Tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler is not interested waiving his no-trade protection unless a (hypothetical) acquiring team reaches a new contract with him, his agent Jay Franklin tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Kinsler is one of several veteran Tigers players who has come up in trade chatter this winter.

Anything is possible, but the demand for an extension would certainly gum up any trade talks between Detroit and any of the rivals who are on Kinsler’s list. He is already 34 years of age, so it isn’t as if he has mid-prime years to sell, and part of his appeal is the relatively limited commitment ($11MM in 2017 and a $10MM option for 2018) that comes with Kinsler’s contract.

Franklin didn’t leave much room for interpretation in his comments. “If one of the 10 teams happens to call and wants to talk about it, we’re open to talking about it,” he said. “[But] they’re going to have to extend him for us to waive the no-trade.” Though the player rep adds that Kinsler is most interested in playing on a winning team, it doesn’t seem as if he’ll entertain any possibilities if they don’t include more years and dollars.

The Dodgers have been rumored to have interest in Kinsler, but are one of the ten organizations to which he must approve a deal. For teams like Los Angeles, who are happy to employ veterans but strive to avoid lengthy entanglements, the demand may be a non-starter.

It’s possible to imagine that some organizations would at least be willing to consider adding to Kinsler’s guarantee — though, perhaps, they won’t be anxious to go too far or too high given his age and two existing years of control. But the need to negotiate with the player and his current team complicates things greatly, since any possible suitor would surely also be looking into alternatives.

It isn’t yet known what other teams are subject to Kinsler’s approval. With 19 teams that aren’t, it’s certainly plausible to think he could be shipped somewhere without having a say. But there are limited teams with a clear need at second base, so depending upon the makeup of the list, Kinsler’s stance could make it quite difficult for the Tigers to pull off a deal — not that the team necessarily feels compelled to do so.