As players continue to bounce around the league with greater frequency for a variety of reasons — teams leaning increasingly toward shorter-term deals, financial incentive to reach free agency, etc. — the number of players gaining 10-and-5 rights have diminished in recent years. For those unfamiliar or those who need a reminder, 10-and-5 rights are granted to a player who has accrued 10 years of MLB service time, including five consecutive years with his current team. These players are given veto power over any potential trade involving them.
It’s rare that a player invokes his 10-and-5 rights, although we’ve seen them come into play in the past. Adam Jones utilized his 10-and-5 provision to block a deal to the Phillies two summer ago, and Brandon Phillips quashed a pair of trades that would’ve sent him out of Cincinnati before he finally acquiesced on a deal sending him to Atlanta.
In other cases, such as Coco Crisp’s trade from Oakland back to Cleveland in 2016, players are willing to waive that veto power for the right deal and/or some additional financial incentive. Those rights were a major factor in the Rays’ decision to trade Evan Longoria when they did; had he opened the 2018 season with Tampa Bay, he’d have gained full no-trade power just two days into the year.
As a reminder, players will receive a year of service time even if no games are played in 2020. And if a season is played, the service time will be prorated to match the truncated nature of the season. In other words, current big leaguers are going to get their year of service unless they’re optioned to the minors or released.
With all that said, some 10-and-5 rights looming on the horizon (I’ve omitted players such as Buster Posey, whose contracts already included full no-trade protection)…
- Kenley Jansen: Jansen’s five-year, $80MM contract with the Dodgers didn’t include a no-trade clause, although it does pay him a $1MM assignment bonus in the event of a trade. Jansen has nine years, 73 days (9.073) of MLB service time, so he’ll clear 10 years of service in 2020 with or without a season. As such, he’ll have full no-trade power next winter, when he’d have one year and $20MM remaining on his contract.
- Jason Heyward: Heyward is getting to the elusive 10-and-5 status in a bit of a different manner. He’s already reached 10 years of service, and once this year elapses, he’ll have spent five years in a Cubs uniform. His contract allows him to block deals to a dozen teams of his choosing in 2020, but he’ll gain full no-trade power next winter. His contract would be cumbersome to move in the first place, given the four years and $86MM remaining on his deal at the moment.
- Johnny Cueto: Like Heyward, Cueto already has the requisite decade of MLB service, but he’s only spent four years with his current team. Next offseason, Cueto will have spent five seasons as a Giant, giving him veto power if the club wants to trade the sixth season of that deal and the subsequent club option. He’s owed $21MM in 2021 and a $5MM buyout on his 2022 club option.
- Freddie Freeman: There’s no real reason to think the Braves would be entertaining the notion of trading a player who has long been considered the face of the franchise (even if Ronald Acuna Jr. is now taking over that title), but Freeman’s eight-year, $135MM contract didn’t contain any no-trade protection and he currently has 9.033 years of service. He’s owed $22MM in 2021, the final season of his current contract, but an extension seems likelier than a trade.
Freeman is going nowhere. Braves window for contending is wide open and they have great prospects already. No need to add to the farm right now until the draft (if they even have one this year).
If only he had said that in the article…of wait.
Do you not know how to read bud?
Cueto has already been with the Giants for 5 years… dang. I didn’t realize it had been that long.
Time flies when you are on the IL.
Yes, people forget about you.
Cubs and Giants should of pushed harder to trade Heyward and Cueto. Even if they wound up eating money getting out from under those 10&5 rights would of gone a long way, and saved some cash in the mean time.
Cueto has a year left, but now he can veto pretty much any trade the Giants attempt to clear his 21 mill salary off the books for 2021 or any trade offers they have come july of 2021.
Heyward is still owed about 72 mill from 2021-2023. Now, even if Cubs find a taker, he can veto pretty much any deal. Really binds the Cubs financial Outlook going forward.
Heyward would’ve been unmovable. Even if they did find a taker, the amount of assets the Cubs would have had to send with him wouldn’t have made it worth it.
If the Cubs are out of contention in a few years, he might be willing to waive although they would have to be willing to eat some of his money, it’ll be much easier to move with less years on it.
You mean, “should have” pushed harder to trade Heyward, Knows Less? Hard to deal Cueto when he’s been injured since the Giants threw up the white flag. Heyward? Yeah, the Cubs would rather hold him than trade contract for contract and be left without a RF/CF. The Cubs would have been in a bind financially even if they found a viable trade partner. Nobody is taking Heyward’s contract on and Heyward would veto a deal to those teams that could take it on entirely.
No I meant should of. Which is why I put should of. Nowhere in my comment did I state my grammar was correct or impeccable nor do I expect other commenters to religiously produce proper grammar on these threads. I am here to discuss baseball, not correct papers like an English teacher. Thank you for the advice; could of done without the mocking name bit, which is childish. Your comment has obvious grammatical errors itself, but it’s not worth my time or anyones time to point them out for you. Doing so adds nothing to the discourse of baseball and just makes you look smug and pretentious as if you’re trying to compensate for something or need validation in some way.. If you feel your time is best suited strenuously looking for grammar errors and pointing them out that’s your time to waste as you see fit.
You should care about such things! Bad writing just makes you seem unprofessional and makes people less likely to take your posts seriously. Nobody wants to get a headache trying to read sloppy grammar even online!
There is a huge difference between incoherent writing that is unreadable and misspelling words where you’re not sure what someone is trying to say verse situations like should of vs. should have.
Majority of comments on threads have grammatical errors that are still readable and coherent opinions and thoughts. But you do you friend.
Smug and pretentious is using the name “Knows More Than You Do”. A simple fix to your writing isn’t too much to ask when you go by that name. But you whined and made excuses so we’ll just say thank you and move on from you. Thanks.
Semantics!
Right on!
Should of (not a thing) vs should have, the proper use of then/than, these are things that intelligent people understand.
If you want someone to take your ideas seriously, be sure your words don’t expose your ignorance
I was kind of annoyed when Brian Giles blocked a trade to Boston in 2008. I think he thought it was more likely that SD would pick up his 2009 option. They did, and he was terrible in 2009.
When did the 10-5 thing begin? How many players have acquired that right more than once?
Nolan Ryan definitely had it with Houston (if it was a thing back then). He might have had it with the Angels, and he came pretty close to having it with Texas.
Ken Griffey Jr. probably had it with both Seattle and Cincinnati. Carlton Fisk both Sox teams. Randy Johnson Seattle and Arizona. Mike Mussina? I don’t think he had a full 10 years with Baltimore.
After the 1972 player strike. Ron Santo of the Cubs was the first to invoke it.
Pujols had it with the Cardinals and now has it again with the Angels.
Oh Joy! The Cubs won’t even be able to dump Jason Heyward’s contract at some point.
When you play for the Cardinals, 10 & 5 rights mean nothing, because Mozeliak gives every player a full no-trade clause. He’s brilliant like that.
they havent been worse off for it. won a title not too long ago and are always competitive. id love Moz as the Phillies GM.
Cecil and Fowler. That’s all you need to know. Mikolas will be next guy bringing them down with a full no trade. Yay for competitive. Yippee!
There are plenty of signings he’s made without a no-trade clause. Of the current roster, only Carpenter, Fowler, Mikolas, and Cecil (not that he has any trade value, anyway) have no-trade clauses, while Molina and Wainwright have 10-and-5 rights. Not even Goldschmidt got any no-trade protection!
Just a random but are the players service time ticking right now or the just staying put. Without the clocks ticking this article is irrelevant. Especially someone like Freddie whose time is just over 9 years.
Service time is ticking. If season is canceled, players receive same service time they accrued in 2019.
10-4 Thanks.
10-5 rights are just dumb. If Manfred wants to make changes he should start by getting rid of 10-5 rights.
That would be something the union would have to give up…I’m pretty sure that is a union perk, not a MLB perk.
ah yes, the Adam Jones clause. JK, no hate for the guy. he gets way too much hate from others here.
Because he’s overrated.
I would like to see a list of guys who have already achieved 10 and 5 status. This isn’t easily done in this day and age.
Off the top of my head, here are some 10/5 guys. There could be more. Chris Davis, Pedroia, Gardner, Alex Gordon, Miggy, Pujols, Andrus, Ryan Zimmerman, Braun, Votto, Molina, Wainwright, Scherzer and Kershaw. I apologize if any of these are wrong, but I think they are all 10/5.
Markakis ATL
Lester CHC
Votto CIN
Kershaw LAD
Braun MIL
Molina STL
Wainwright STL
Zimmermann WAS
Scherzer WAS
Davis BAL
Pedroia BOS
Cabrera DET
Gordon KC
Pujols LAA
Gardner NYY
Choo TEX
Andrus TEX
I would like to see a list of guys who have already achieved 10 and 5 status. This isn’t easily done in this day and age.