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Let him be clear: Ramirez wants to stay

ST. LOUIS — In whatever language he wanted to use, Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez reiterated his desire to remain a Cub, and that's how it's likely to remain for the near future.

After Thursday's game in Milwaukee, Ramirez said he didn't want to leave, but he seemed to leave the door open to a deal if he didn't fit into the Cubs' plans.

He joked Friday at Busch Stadium that maybe he ought to clarify his position in Spanish.

Ramirez has 10-and-5 rights (10 years in the big leagues and five with the same club), which means he cannot be traded without his permission.

General manager Jim Hendry is not actively “shopping” a player he cannot trade without permission. If another team expressed interest in Ramirez, Hendry said he'd first go to Ramirez before putting a deal in place.

Since there is nothing in place, all the rest is a lot of talk.

“I think I was misunderstood yesterday,” Ramirez said. “I haven't read the paper, but a couple of people have told me that the way it came out was like I want to leave, like I was ready to so somewhere else, and that's not the case. All I want to say is, what I tried to say yesterday was, I talked to Jim a couple weeks ago, and we were on the same page. If he wants me here, then I want to stay here.

“I know I'm not out there; they're not shopping me around. My whole point is I'm not on the market, as far as I know.”

Last year, the Cubs traded Derrek Lee to the Braves. Lee, like Ramirez, had 10-and-5 rights, and he nixed a possible deal to the Angels. When the Braves came calling, Hendry went to Lee, who OK'd a trade. From the Cubs' viewpoint, Lee did not figure into their future plans so they were more ready to deal him.

That's not necessarily the case with Ramirez.

“I take guys with 10-5 rights very seriously, always have,” Hendry said. “That's a right they've earned by playing this game for a long time, and in this case, playing with us for a long time very, very well, especially in the years we were good. He certainly had a hand in us winning three division titles.

“I had a conversation with Aramis a couple weeks ago and another one (Thursday) night. He's always expressed to me that this is where he'd rather be. His preference is to stay. He won't be traded by 3 o'clock on Sunday, and that's his right. That being said, he knows that there's no guarantee he'll be back next year, and there's no guarantee he won't.”