Griffey traded to White Sox

Aug 1, 2008 - 5:37 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Ken Griffey Jr. apparently wants a final chance to win a World Series title.

Griffey on Thursday agreed to a trade that sent him to the first-place Chicago White Sox.

As a player with at least 10 years of major league service and five with the same club, the veteran outfielder had the right to veto any trade. Griffey, earning $12.5 million this season in the final year of his contract, is owed more than $4 million in salary.

"This is an opportunity for Ken to place for a first-place team," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "We hope it works out for him."

The Reds received pitcher Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar in return for Griffey, who is batting .245 this season with 15 home runs and 53 RBI in 359 at-bats. Earlier this season, Griffey hit his 600th career home run, becoming the sixth member of the elusive club.

While the 38-year-old Griffey is headed to the Hall of Fame, he has won only one of three postseason series in which has has played. In 1995, he led the Seattle Mariners to a five-game victory over the New York Yankees in the American League division series, batting .391 with five home runs and seven RBI.

However, the Mariners then fell to the Cleveland Indians in the AL Championship Series and also lost to the Baltimore Orioles in the 1997 ALDS.

The White Sox attempted to acquire Griffey from the Reds at the trade deadline in 2005, but the deal reportedly was nixed by Reds ownership for financial reasons.

While the Reds (51-58) are out of the playoff hunt, the White Sox (60-47) currently lead the American League Central by one-half game over the Minnesota Twins and 5 1/2 over the Detroit Tigers.

"Our intent is to win the American League Central Division and, ultimately, to win another World Series championship," White Sox general manager Ken Williams said. "Adding a player the caliber of Ken Griffey Jr. gives us a better chance to realize those goals."

Manager Ozzie Guillen was more concerned with his team, which lost to the Minnesota Twins, 10-6, on Thursday.

"I don't care about Griffey. I will see him tomorrow," Guillen said. "Griffey did not pitch. We lost the game because we did not pitch."



In Griffey's eight-plus seasons in Cincinnati, the Reds rarely contended for a playoff spot. The closest they came to making the postseason during Griffey's tenure was in 2000, when Cincinnati lost a one-game playoff to the New York Mets to decide the National League wild card.

Since then, the Reds have endured seven straight losing seasons and four fifth-place finishes in the NL Central Division.

The issue for the White Sox is how they will utilize Griffey. They are set at the corner outfield spots with Carlos Quentin in left and Jermaine Dye in right, and Griffey has not patrolled center field regularly since 2006.

"Anytime you can add a veteran leader and our offense to a lineup that's pretty stacked now, it's helped this team out and hopefully it puts us over the hump," Dye said. "He's a great guy, a Hall of Fame person and a great addition to this ballclub."

The White Sox could move Nick Swisher to first base to open center for Griffey, a move that would reduce the playing time of first baseman Paul Konerko and designated hitter Jim Thome.

"He's got 600-some home runs. Yeah he's still got some more in the tank, no doubt about it," Swisher said. "He's going to give us a bat on offense and probably be able to help us out on defense, too. I think as a whole, we're really excited to have him over here.

"I didn't see that one coming. Kenny Williams knows what he's doing."

Swisher wasn't overly concerned about what Griffey's arrival means for him.

"We'll just have to see what happens," he said. "Obviously I want to be out there playing every day but we'll just see."

Konerko has hit .212 (14-for-66) since coming off the disabled list on July 8.

Swisher summed the move up by saying he thinks this just adds to his confidence about the team.

"I thought we were the team to beat coming out of spring training, but no one believed me," Swisher said. "I just think there's a lot of added things he can bring. I mean I had posters of that guy on my wall growing up. So I think it's going to be an awesome thing for all of us. Not only the way he plays the game, but his leadership as well."

Pitcher John Danks concurred.

"I am personally looking forward to just meeting him and playing along with him," the lefty said.