Griffey to ChiSox?

[burton2019]

The Cincinnati Reds are awaiting word from Ken Griffey Jr. on whether he'll accept a tentative trade to the Chicago White Sox.

The Reds approached Griffey on Wednesday night in Houston and asked if he would waive his contractual rights to accept a deal to the White Sox, according to a baseball source. Griffey has the right to veto any trade because he has 10 years of major league service time and five years with the Reds.

The tentative trade was first reported by FOXSports.com. It is unknown what other player or players are involved in the deal.

Griffey, 38, is hitting .245 with 15 home runs for Cincinnati this season. On June 9, he joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa as the sixth player in history to hit 600 homers.

While the Reds (51-58) languish in their division, the White Sox (60-46) lead the AL Central by 1½ games over the Minnesota Twins and 5½ over the Detroit Tigers.

Griffey hit his 15th home run of the season in Wednesday night's 9-5 win over Houston. It was the 608th of his career, moving him within one of Sosa for fifth on the all-time list. Griffey extended his hitting streak to 12 games and has 1,139 extra-base hits, one behind Ty Cobb for 10th all-time.

This isn't the first time White Sox general manager Kenny Williams has made a run at Griffey. In 2005, the White Sox tried to trade three prospects to Cincinnati for Griffey. But Carl Lindner, then the CEO of the Reds, reportedly stepped in and vetoed the trade because Chicago wanted Cincinnati to pay 60 percent of the $40 million-plus that was owed to Griffey at the time. Some media outlets have categorized Griffey as untradeable because of the widespread perception he would insist on having his $16.5 million option exercised in conjunction with a deal. But sources said Griffey was willing to consider returning to Cincinnati for a lower annual price if the Reds might consider tacking an extra year onto his deal. It's believed Griffey is just as concerned with where he fits in Chicago as the financial ramifications. The White Sox have Jermaine Dye in right field, Nick Swisher in center and Carlos Quentin in left, with Paul Konerko at first base and Jim Thome at DH. When Konerko was on the disabled list recently with an oblique injury, the White Sox moved Swisher to first base and played Brian Anderson and Dewayne Wise in center field. Konerko, Chicago's team captain, returned on July 8. He's hitting .214, and there have been calls for manager Ozzie Guillen to bench him. The White Sox went 13-7 when Konerko was on the disabled list. But as Guillen told Chicago reporters this week, Swisher is hitting just slightly better than Konerko at .230. ''People say, 'Put Konerko on the bench, do this with Konerko, do that with Konerko,' " Guillen said in the Chicago Sun-Times on Wednesday. "Who's going to play first? Swisher? Oh. Do me a favor, check the book first and check Swisher and Konerko's averages, and it's not that much different.''

[whiteshoes]

Apparently he has accepted the deal. If my BoSox don't make it to the playoffs, I'll be rooting for the other color Sox. I think Griffey deserves a shot at a ring.

[1inStripes]

PVFans been awfully quite on here lately. Whats your thoughts on this man? You two 7teen?

[CoeburnCane]

It's probably best for the Reds in the long run to get half of his payroll off the books and give them more financial flexibility to do some things...but I'm torn b/c I've been a Reds fan since I was little and a Griffey fan since he was a rookie.

Griffey deserves a shot at a ring, but I love the "hometown kid" got to play for Cincy, even if it was for only a few years.

[burton2019]

Does he DH in Chicago?

[CoeburnCane]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: burton2019</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Does he DH in Chicago?</div></div>

As was said in the article, Thome's the DH, but Thome's not a bad 1B either. If Konerko and Swisher keep struggling, you could see Thome heading out to 1B and Griffey DH'ing with both Swisher & Konerko benched with Brian Anderson/Dewayne Wise platooning in CF. Depends on who's hot and who's not I would guess.

[burton2019]

Yeah I read that..what i meant to say was "should he DH"? Maybe to keep him a little healthier.

[R0cketer]

I think it gives them some versatility (the White Sox I mean). They have 3 outfielders, a 1st baseman and a DH already. Health is a factor with several of them, so they are kind of protecting themselves.

I don't mind this deal because Williams has wanted Griffey awhile and I wouldn't mind seeing Gtiffey get a shot, even though I don't think the White Sox are as good as their record.

[neutral88]

adding Jr, i feal does make them a contender...

I'm with you before the trade, I think the Sox are a little over=rated, but you never know

[centennialdawg]

Hey, I think it is a smart move on Jr.'s part.