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Junior Approves Trade To White Sox
31st July, 2008 - 11:51 am
FoxSports - Ken Griffey has approved a trade to the White Sox, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. The trade is now pending the approval of the commissioner, an indication that it involves a cash transaction of more than $1 million.

It is not yet know what the Reds will receive in return.

Griffey agrees to go to White Sox
By Tim Brown, Yahoo! Sports


At about the same time a Boston Red Sox official described a proposed three-way trade that would send Manny Ramirez to the Florida Marlins and also involve the Pittsburgh Pirates as “50-50 at this point,” Ken Griffey Jr. agreed to waive his no-trade rights and will leave the Cincinnati Reds for the Chicago White Sox, a source said Thursday.

The Reds, who also are taking calls on left fielder Adam Dunn, are expected to receive right-hander Nick Masset and second baseman Danny Richar in the trade. It is unclear how the White Sox will use Griffey, who hasn’t played center field in two years and hardly hits left-handers anymore. They are set at the corner outfield spots with Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye.

But he’s had a decent July, batting .271 with five home runs and 17 RBI, his best month of the season. He ranks sixth on the all-time run list with 608.

Griffey, 38, is in the final guaranteed year of a nine-year, $116.5-million contract. The club holds an option for next season for $16.5 million, with a $4 million buyout.

Richar batted .230 in 56 games for the White Sox last season and has spent this year in Triple-A. Masset has a 4.63 ERA in 44 2/3 innings for the White Sox this season.

As the clock ticked past noon Manny Standard Time, the Red Sox official said negotiations to unload Ramirez “have a lot of variables and is very complicated.” But a Pirates source sounded more optimistic, saying they are satisfied with their end of the deal, which would send outfielder Jason Bay to the Red Sox. The Pirates, who would get Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins as their centerpiece in the trade, have ceased trade discussions with other teams involving Bay.

Another source familiar with the negotiations said at 12:30 ET that, “It’s getting closer, but there’s still a chance it could fall apart.”


Typical Reds type of deal trade a proven veteran for a bunch of crap. Richar (infielder) hit .230 last year and Masset has a 4.63 era just what we need to push us over the top.

Nick Masset's career stats:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7805


Danny Richar's career stats:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/8078

If this trade goes down, it will be a joke of a trade IMO.

It is official and a done deal.

Griffey accepts trade to White Sox
54 minutes ago

Buzz Up PrintCHICAGO (TICKER) —Ken Griffey Jr. apparently wants a final chance to win a World Series title.

Griffey Jr. on Thursday agreed to a trade that will send 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.

Due to the amount of money changing hands, the deal will be formally announced pending approval from baseball commissioner Bud Selig.

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 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 (60-46) currently lead the American League Central by 1 1/2 games over the Minnesota Twins and five over the Detroit Tigers.

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.

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.

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

Reds get reliever, minor-leaguer infielder for Griffey

Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Cincinnati Reds will receive relief pitcher Nick Masset and a minor-league infielder in exchange for future hall-of-famer Ken Griffey Jr., according to cbssports.com.

The Reds traded Griffey to the Chicago White Sox today, July 31.

Masset is 1-0 with a 4.63 earned run average this season. He's appeared in 32 games and has one save.

The 26-year-old from St. Petersburg, Fla., has pitched in 67 games in his career, covering 92 2/3 innings. He's recorded 57 career strikeouts.

Danny Richar is hitting .262 with nine home runs, 39 RBIs and 11 stolen bases for the White Sox's AAA affiliate, the Charlotte Knights.

Cincinnati will pay the remaining $4 million due on Griffey's contract this season.


Did the Reds get enough for Griffey?

By Steve Smith

July 31, 2008 2:14 PM

Take this to the bank; Griffey will help the White Sox immeasurably down the stretch, if only to show up Jocketty for trading him for such unaccomplished and effectively worthless scrap (nothing personal meant by this, but in a purely baseball sense, it’s factual). Let’s see; this also means that they’ll trade Dunn to the Yankees tonight for their 1989 Number 7 draft choice and a quart of YooHoo.

Well, I for one would have rather just eaten Griffey's contract for the rest of the year. I mean these players may be decent, but for Griffey who wil provide you 20+/80 and a decent OBP, you'd figure you could get a better return. Guess not.

Frankly, after reading various articles, I'm glad he's gone. I don't know if these fans represent the majority of Reds fans over there, but I visit a message board occasionaly and i went there to see their reaction on the trade and he was getting absolutely bashed. It makes me sad to see a future hall of famer treated that way. Again, I doubt that represents EVERYONE in Cincinnati.