Loading ...FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Ken Griffey, Jr. has been traded to the Chicago White Sox. As we all know, any trade is subject to Griffey’s veto, and Rosenthal says he’s expected to make a decision on that this morning.
Mlbtraderumors.com asks a great question:
The fit is unclear, as the Sox have Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye in the corners and Jim Thome at DH. Perhaps they’ll try Griffey at first base?
That question really is a great one, but frankly, any trade that gets Junior to a contender, in exchange for anything, is a good one in my book. So long as it doesn’t mean Corey Patterson seven days a week.
Huge hat tip to reader nycredsfan.
UPDATE (from Chad): Chris and I posted this at the same time, so I deleted my post and I am adding my thoughts from that post here…
No way to evaluate this without knowing what the Reds will be receiving in return. Of course, many of you would trade Griffey for a bag of balls. I’m not in that camp. I’m just sentimental like that, I guess. I would be sad to see the guy go (which isn’t to say that I’m opposed to trading him).
I’ll tell you one thing: if this trade goes through, I’ll be cheering for the White Sox to win the World Series.
UPDATE 2 (by Chad): I wouldn’t put too much stock in this yet, but Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune just speculated on ESPN Radio that Nick Swisher might be headed to the Reds in this trade. I find that hard to believe, but we’ll see.
UPDATE 3 (by Chris): Will Carroll confirms the story. He also notes that David Weathers is likely headed out. This presumably lessens Chad’s pain.
UPDATE 4 (by Chris): DONE deal. Reds sending cash to the South Side. No official word yet, but some reports Reds get two marginal talents: reliver Nick Masset (5.63 ERA, 1.78 WHIP in 93 IP) and 25-year-old minor league IF Danny Richar (.288/.339/.440 career line), who sounds a lot like Jerry Gil without the power upside.
See ya Junior. The Reds did ya wrong, but it was time to move on. I compare Junior to the day you buy a boat. The two happiest days are when you buy it and when you sell it. Go get a championship Kid. Junior deserved more than what the Reds organization gave him, but it was time for him to go. Of course, Brantley is a huge (fill in the blank), but it was time for the Reds and Junior to part ways.
But this does mean that Patterson will start in Center for the rest of the year and Bruce in right for the rest of his career.
We will all be cheering for teh White Sox.
Jack we dont know what we are getting yet
we may be getting a replacement.
the days not over.
and yes i love griffey.
but its time to move on
he cant field.
he can barely hit
and what would be a triple for anyone else. he makes it into a tough looking single.
byeeeeee
I’ll be rooting hard for the White Sox if they get Griffey. I just hope this wouldn’t mean Patterson starting every day. I would rather see a random fan signed to a one day contract every game and put in the outfield.
The most I am hoping for is a B level prospect or some salary relief. I’d take Brian Anderson off their 40 man just to fill out center for this year–great glove, no bat. At least his name isn’t Corey Patterson. Second thought–if the Rockies want Fogg back, are we in a position to let him go? We’d need a starter until Harang is ready to come off the DL.
This doesn’t mean CPatt for the rest of the year. Hairston plays a good CF and is rehabbing in L’Ville right now, and by all accounts should be back really soon.
I wish Junior would hurry up and get out of bed and make a decision, either way.
Griffey still has to waive his no trade clause, which I don’t think is necessarily a sure thing even if he would be going to a contender. The White Sox really don’t have a clear-cut role for him. I’d take any of their OFs over Griffey and with Thome as their DH, it looks like playing time would be sparse. There’s also the issue with his option being picked up for next year which might be a deal breaker.
I hope this goes through, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Griffey is still a Red tomorrow.
I say good riddance. Watching him jog the bases irritates me.
Sorry, Chad…I’m in the “bag of balls” category. I’m assuming if he takes this deal, the Reds aren’t on the hook for his $14M option buyout after the season (though I’d be shocked if there wasn’t some money headed to the Windy City with this deal).
Whatever the particulars are, if Griffey gives it the thumbs up, it will still be a huge money saver. Enough to keep Dunn and Arroyo, who is now probably most valuable staying with the team.
To be fair, he jogs a lot because his hamstring is held to his bone by a bunch of screws.
I wouldn’t even need the bag of balls. Maybe a pack of chewing gum. My wife would kill me if she saw me writing that, she loves Junior and was pretty upset when I told her he has been traded.
My 4 year old son is going to be devastated.
The talkers on the Chicago sports station I was listening to on the way into the office say that Jr. will start in center (!) and are pleased about what a great addition this is. They say anything lost defensively will be more than accounted for with the additional offense. I report, you decide.
I think he jogs a lot because of his weight and he gets out of breath if he runs too much. They showed the highlight a couple of weeks ago of him hitting an inside the park home run in 2000 and he looks like he ate that guy.
Wouldnt the reds get a draft pick next year if they declined his option? If the chisox dont give us anything of real value wouldnt the smart move be to take your chances with a decent pick?
The Reds have to pay him $4 million to go away. Not worth $4 million for a draft pick.
Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune just said on the radio that Nick Swisher might be headed to the Reds.
Bag of balls? Sheesh. I can’t see how folks believe the team is better only by subtraction of a $4M buyout. If money’s not going north, then I could see the White Sox sending a crappy 2009 contract to Cincinnati.
I’ll take swisher! he is wayyyy better option the he who shall not be named
If Swisher is headed this way, it’s a great deal for us. Swisher, while having a down year, is versatile, high energy, and takes walks. Plus I believe he is under contract beyond this year.
Phil Rogers is generally an idiot, but I hope he’s right on this one. Swish is a nice player, and an Ohio guy. Of course, the .247/.358 career line isn’t the type that Reds fans like. (I’d predict a lot better in GABP).
He’s owed a bit of cash, which makes it more likely:
$5.3M in 2009, $6.75M in 2010 and $9M in 2011- + the deal includes a team option for 2012 worth $10.25M or a $1M buyout- +
I would suspect that Swish is Dunn’s replacement, long-term.
As for Griffey’s jogging: It’s definitely annoying, but the fact is – he hasn’t gotten (seriously) hurt in a while now, so maybe it’s working.
Swish is 27, also. So other than a bump for moving to the NL and another for playing at GABP instead of Oakland/Comiskey, don’t expect a big jump.
Actually, I thought the HR park factor in Comiskey was as big as GABP?
You are correct, sir.
Tjis season, at least, Comiskey is a better environment than GABP for everything but triples. Last year, GABP was slightly better in most categories.
How do walks have a park factor?
If true, what is Swisher’s defense in CF like? You don’t think they would keep Dunn and go Dunn, Swisher, Bruce?
Grif – take your knives with you…and don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!
Not sure, GregD. I suppose it has to do with foul territory and how pitchers approach hitters due to the other things?
i would love an outdfield of dunn swish and bruce
but will the reds pay dunn?
they should yes
dunn swish and bruce would be fine, but that would give the reds one major off season task: find a SS that can lead off. Trying to land Jose Reyes in an off season deal is a dream right?
http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/10914920
Ken Griffey Jr. has been traded to the Chicago White Sox, CBSSports.com confirmed Thursday. The deal is still awaiting Griffey’s approval, so it has yet to be announced.
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The Cincinnati Reds will get infielder Danny Richar and right-handed pitcher Nick Masset in the deal, according to sources. Cincinnati will also pay the remaining $4 million on Griffey’s contract.
It’s believed the White Sox intend to play the 38-year-old Griffey in center field, a position he hasn’t played since 2006. The slumping Nick Swisher would move to first base, sharing time with Paul Konerko, whose own slump has been even worse.
The White Sox have tried to trade for Griffey before, but Thursday’s deal still caught many people by surprise. Griffey hit his 600th career home run earlier this year, but he’s hitting just .245 for the Reds, with 15 home runs and 53 RBI in 102 games.
Griffey is in the final year of a nine-year deal. There’s a club option for 2009 at $16.5 million, but it’s unlikely the White Sox would exercise that option.
A source told the Associated Press that Griffey wants some questions answered unrelated to his contract.
The White Sox have been in first place since the middle of May, but the Twins have closed the gap to 1½ games and the Tigers have also been playing better. Manager Ozzie Guillen has at various times expressed concern about his offense, and this week he talked openly about sitting Konerko more often.
Konerko is 14-for-66 (.212) since he came off the disabled list on July 8.
He accepted, he’s gone!
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8398348/Griffey-accepts-trade-to-White-Sox
Griffey OK’d the trade – still no word on players in return, but it involves “cash more than $1M” and so requires commish approval.
So, they’re moving Griffey for nothing and paying his 2009 option. That doesn’t make any sense at all.
Getting Masset allows us to trade Weathers or Affeldt. It looks like maybe it’s a precurser to something else.
I love Junior, he’s my favorite player, so this is sad for me, but for both his sake and the Reds, this is the trade I’ve been hoping for: Junior going to an AL contender who isn’t the Yankees or Red Sox. If the White Sox think he’s going to play CF, though, I don’t know what they’re smoking. We all know about his range at this point, plus if he does that he’ll get hurt again. He should be DH-ing and playing a corner spot part time. He does have the hands to play first base. Early in his career some Angels manager said he could be a Gold Glove first baseman.
Getting Masset allows us to trade Weathers or Affeldt. It looks like maybe it’s a precurser to something else.
I think the Reds could have survived if Weathers was moved without acquiring Massett.
Wow, they just gave him away for nothing.
Is Nick Masset somehow better than his numbers? Cause they look terrible. Even in the minors he’s unimpressive.
Actually, they paid Chicago to take Junior off their hands. The Reds didn’t even get a bag of balls in return.
Honestly though, what were you going to get for him? If you keep him, you’re not going to get draft picks anyway. From the Reds perspective, really a pointless deal but keeping him was probably more pointless.
Wow did you guys realize that Dunn leads the majors in homers. Why is there not more interest in him?
I’m interested in Dunn. I’m interested in him staying with the Reds.
This makes a lot of sense if we recall Jocketty’s desire to “change the culture.” The Reds are in last place with or without Griffey.
Masset will always have to battle for a roster spot. Richar might be the more valuable piece of this trade. He’ll likely be a .250 hitter in the bigs, but I’ve seen him play a bit (Chicago market), and he’s a stellar defender….at 2B. Maybe the Phillips move to short isn’t so far fetched.
I don’t think the Reds were even trying to bargain to get anything substantial back in value. This was done *for* Griffey–so he could play for a contender. You also could be a cynic and say they got rid of him because of how he handled the Brantley dispute, but I think it’s to give Griffey a graceful exit and a chance at October. Both parties knew he wouldn’t be back with the Reds anyway.
I fear more that this means more Corey Patterson.
Does he need a ride to the airport? Help packing? Good riddance. Your spoiled brat, prima donna attitude wore thin in oh say July of 2000.
DBacks and Rays are interested in Dunn. The DBacks apparently offered Chad Tracy and Walt shot them down, thank god. But it appears there is some definite interest. Time to start a Dunn-watch thread…
Everyone go back to the Spring of 2000 for a minute….. Now open your eyes…. Did you think it would ever be this bad? I don’t blame the Reds’ losing sesasons on Griffey, but to me he represents one of the worst eras that this franchise has ever had and it’s nice in someway to turn the page and give him a chance to play for something. Who thinks his numbers will greatly improve? I think he has been comfortable here for quite a while and wouldn’t be surprised to see him have a good August and September.
Now…who bats third?
Hey make sure they send us that bag of balls in the trade…..
put it on tha BOARD YEAH!
Some spiteful mean-spirited jerks are posting here.
Look, came and got hurt a lot. The he got older. Tough luck. It isn’t his fault that the GM who made the trade was, and is, incompetent (the majors are populated with incompetent GM’s).
The Reds have had decades of bad ownership and bad front office management. The Griffey trade — and the expectation that he alone would turn a bad organization into a winner — is itself evidence of the team’s disastrous legacy. It’s only been a few months since an owner arrived he seems intent on doing something marginally clever.
The Reds are only paying $1 Million of Griff’s salary, so says Will Carrol.
Exactly, justcorbly. And it’s not Junior’s fault that he was surrounded by crappy rosters for his entire tenure in Cincinnati.
He came here, got hurt, ate tons of food, and got fat and lazy.
This is a fine trade. Griffey had no trade value at all, so getting anything for him is a good deal. The Reds were never going to get draft picks for him because they wouldn’t have risked him accepting arbitration. Also, someone would have to sign the 39-year-old version of Jr.
They sure as hell weren’t getting Swisher, after the White Sox gave up Gio Gonzalez, Fautino De Los Santos and outfielder Ryan Sweeney just six months ago.
Like someone else said, Masset can eat whatever innings Weathers would have pitched.
I’m surprised no one has wondered whether Richar will give the Reds a chance to try Phillips at short.
Yes! Now we won’t have to listen to Grande and Thom say junior 4000 times per telecast anymore!he could trip and fall on the way to an base (if he ever ran fast enough to trip) and either of those 2 would praise him on his original and creative way of avoiding the tag
Griffey is still the best player to ever put on a Reds uniform. Sucks to see him go, but at the same time it makes sense for both he and the Reds.
Richar/Masset are both players that we already have. Richar isn’t going to be a starter in the big leagues. Masset is terrible. 1.70 WHIP…. put that in this park and his ERA will be over 6.
It’s hard to evaluate the trade without knowing all the details on money. ESPN SportsCenter just said the ChiSox and Reds have agreed to split the $4M buyout on his contract for next year.
Griffey the best player to ever put on a Reds uniform? That’s like saying that Willie Mays was the best player to ever put on a Mets uniform.
Ellis, while I see your point its also a bit different. Mays was never a good player in NY over a full season. Griffey was a very good player for several years for Cincinnati.
I know the difference but the analogy served to get my point across.
Best player to ever don a Reds uniform? Johnny Lee Bench & Joe Leonard Morgan say ‘hi’.
Well, I hate to see Griffey go. I really hoped he would win a World Series in Cincinnati, but I hope Chicago can win one now.
Joe Morgan, please don’t put him in the Griffey category. Morgan was a great player. Griffey is one of the greatest of all time. Bench, I will listen to an argument for.
Morgan is an idiot now, but he’s the best or second-best 2b in baseball history.
Morgan is one of the best second baseman ever (not the best, that goes to a guy named Hornsby), but he still isn’t in the class of Griffey in terms of a player.
Saying Griffey is the best player to ever wear a Reds’ uniform is ludicrous. Thats like saying Christy Mathewson was the greatest pitcher to wear a Reds’ uniform.
Griffey was a great player but never as a Red as Mathewson was a great pitcher but never as a Red.
This trade was addition by subtraction.
LOL You must be kidding or you’re not old enough to have seen Morgan. “In terms of a player”… what does that mean? Morgan was the MOST COMPLETE player of his day, and is quite possibly the finest 2nd baseman of all time. We’re not talking one trick pony at an outfield corner position, or 1st base either. He was a middle infielder who could do it all.
Griffey put up 5 seasons of a 120 or better OPS+ number with the Reds. Thats pretty darn good. Was he the best Red ever? No. Was he the best player to ever put on a Reds uniform? Very likely.
It’s only “addition by subtraction” if the Reds have an OF ready to step in and provide an OPS north of 800, and/or better defense. I don’t see that person on the roster or in the system right now. I’m not against the deal, but it’s a bit much to say the team is better today than it was last night.
That depends on if my suspicions about Griffey bringing down the morale of the club are correct.
I approve of the deal, but the tesm isn’t better today. Junior’s been hitting lately, his OPS climbing and now close to .800. Who’s going to replace him this year ?
I hope to hell we don’t trade Dunn.
Joe Morgan is a favorite of mine, a great all around player, but he was only at the peak of his game for 6 years. I’m boggled by “greatest Red ever” discussions that don’t even mention Frank Robinson. Great numbers and they don’t even tell half the story. Other teams feared him, at the plate and on the basepaths. And he could play some D.
Doug, I agree wtih you on comment 73, Junior as the greatest player to put on a Reds uniform. But one can also argue Frank Robinson.
It’s good that you mention Junior’s 5 years with the Reds with such a high OPS. I hate it when people say he had “one good year” (2000) with the Reds. His best year with the Reds was probably 2005, when he batted .301 and slugged .576, and won the Silver Slugger even though he missed the last 4 weeks. That was the season after the radical surgery to staple his hamstring to the bone, noone had ever come back from surgery like that. April was his spring training, he didn’t homer until April 30. From then until he rolled his ankle on Labor Day Sunday, he was the Junior who played for Seattle. One of the most remarkable comebacks in the history of baseball, and it’s forgotten already.
Something to ponder, for those who think Junior did almost nothing for the Reds. In comparison, Frank Robinson is largely known for his years with the Orioles and is revered by Oriole fans as one of the greatest Orioles ever. His Hall of Fame cap (by his choice) is an Oriole cap. He hit 179 home runs as an Oriole. Junior hit 210 home runs as a Red.
Yes Robby led the Orioles to 4 World Series, two of which they won, but that had something to do with the players around him.
I admit this deal is good for both Jr and the Reds, but I still can’t help but think we could have gotten something besides salary relief in this deal. Sure, he may not be a great player anymore, but he still will put some ‘butts in seats’, especially as he passes Sosa from the other side of town. How neat is that, by the way?
Hey pinson comparing home runs in the sixties to home runs today is like comparing $1 today to $1 in the 60s