Ken Griffey, Jr To The White Sox?

July 31st, 2008 at 9:43 am
By Chris

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Ken Griffey Jr Good thing Junior looks good in black because his current team, the Cincinnati Reds, agreed to trade their outfielder to the Chicago White Sox. The only thing holding it up is Griffey’s approval, something he considered doing when Tampa Bay was being discussed.

According to reports, Griffey has some questions for the White Sox organization — apparently not contract-related — before he gives the green light. Provided he does so, what does this do for the White Sox who find themselves in a neck-and-neck race for the AL Central with Minnesota?

Is Griffey’s sometimes explosive bat enough to put Ozzie Guillen’s team over the hump?

Because Griffey hasn’t been in the postseason as often as his talent would suggest, if you are White Sox fan, you have to like your chances of Griffey approving the trade. However, looking at the White Sox depth chart, one wonders where he’d fit in with the team. The outfield has two players putting up MVP-like numbers in Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye.

Would Guillen consider replacing center fielder Nick Swisher with Griffey?

They both have similar numbers (Griffey - .245/15/53 — Swisher - .230/15/50) but Swisher’s eight years younger and durable enough to handle the potential pounding a center fielder takes. Is Griffey? Currently, no other players besides Griffey have been mentioned so it’s hard to speculate further about where he’d fit in the White Sox roster.

More on this as it breaks.

Update - 11:51: Griffey approved the trade which will see the Reds and White Sox swap the outfielder for pitcher Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar. As you can see, these players do not answer the question about where Griffey will fit in the White Sox line-up. Provided the MLB approves the trade, is he going to replace Paul Konerko at first base or will he replace Nick Swisher in center field?

Update 2: Trade’s been approved. Expect to see Griffey in his White Sox debut this weekend against the Kansas City Royals.