Hafner obtains ten and five rights

The Indians have told reporters that Travis Hafner has officially obtained ten to five rights when he reached ten years of MLB service yesterday.

Hafner is in the final season of a four year, $57 million deal he signed with Cleveland. His contract had a limited no-trade clause but now that he has the ten to five rights, he has to give the Indians permission to trade him. If Hafner resigns with Cleveland in the off-season, he will retain his rights, but if he signs with a different team this winter, we will not have any no-trade rights, unless his representatives negotiate them into his contract.

Analysis: It definitely feels like Hafner has been with the Indians for a long long time. Good for him though. Ten to five rights are important but I have a feeling that he is going to leave Cleveland via free agency this winter, therefore meaning that these rights won't matter. I doubt that the Indians would want to keep his injury-prone body on the roster at this point.