Reds would be wise to take any offer for fading Griffey

By Doug Harris

Dayton Daily News Staff Writer

Thursday, May 15, 2008

If the Seattle Mariners are truly interested in Ken Griffey Jr., and if he's sincere about wanting to finish his career with the club that gave him his professional start, then the Reds should jump at a trade — even if they're offered nothing more than a box of baseballs and a vat of pine tar.

I've always been a Griffey admirer. I know fans like to grouse about his injury history, but I doubt he ever pulled a ligament or ruptured a tendon on purpose. And while he comes off as aloof in public, he's actually, by all accounts, an engaging person in private and a positive clubhouse presence.

But as a player, Griffey is fading fast. He had 23 home runs before the All-Star game last year but finished with just 30. He hit one homer every 12.5 at-bats before the break, one every 34.4 plate appearances after that.

This year, he had just four homers in 40 games going into play Wednesday, which would give him about 16 for the season. He has one homer every 35 at-bats. Anyone else spot a trend here?

And it's not just the offense that has diminished. In one game against the Cubs this year, he made a throw to home plate from short right field that bounced at the edge of the infield grass, hopped a couple of times and rolled feebly to the catcher.

I know the Reds want to keep Griffey around for his march to 600 homers, but at the rate he's going, they could be in for a long wait.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2125

or at dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.

SI.com Weighs In

Drafting Jocketty

People connected to the Reds say Walt Jocketty certainly was not campaigning for the GM job he was given a few weeks ago and would have been just as happy -- or happier even -- to remain as club president and adviser to owner Bob Castellini. They say Jocketty is at a stage in his life where he didn't need this, but that Castellini insisted his old friend take over for Wayne Krivsky.

Reds insiders also say Castellini just never hit it off with Krivsky (beyond the interview, that is) and has always liked Jocketty, the Cardinals' GM when Castellini was a limited partner in St. Louis. Jocketty doesn't dispute the notion that he was drafted for the job. "Mr. Castellini came to me and said he wanted to make a change and asked me if I'd be willing to take over,'' Jocketty said.

While Castellini asked, it apparently wasn't a question. "I couldn't really turn him down,'' Jocketty said.

Krivsky said he has no issue with Jocketty, who was brought into the front office in January. "He told me at the time he wasn't interested in my job,'' Krivsky said by phone. "And I believe he was telling me the truth."
Griffey, Dunn should hit the market

Krivsky leaves a better team than the one he inherited, thanks to some positive individual moves. Two of the best were taking Josh Hamilton in the Rule 5 draft and then trading him to the Rangers for young pitcher Edinson Volquez (a good deal for both sides).

With an improved young nucleus, people around the game believe Jocketty's goal will be to change the climate around the perennially underachieving team and that he will seriously entertain offers for Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn. It won't necessarily be easy to get a haul in return, thanks to slow starts by the two sluggers (Griffey is at .250 with four home runs, while Dunn is hitting .203 with six homers), high salaries and expiring contracts (Dunn's ends after the year and the Reds hold a $16.5-million option on Griffey, which is unlikely to be exercised). Griffey also has veto power over trades while Dunn has a limited no-trade provision that names 10 teams to which he can not be traded.

The Mariners remain a possible destination for Griffey, who's beloved in that area, and especially by Mariners team president Chuck Armstrong. Although, if Griffey hopes to go to a winner, he might have to look elsewhere. The Indians could also be a candidate for offense, especially if Travis Hafner (.354 slugging) doesn't turn it around.

Steam has former Red Skipper

Read it here.

Jocketty: No Talks To Trade Griffey

In a new twist to the Ken Griffey Jr saga, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports that Reds may have no interest in trading Griffey. When asked about the subject, GM Walt Jocketty said that he has had no discussions with other teams about trading Griffey and that Griffey does not want to be traded.

"I've had no trade discussions," Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. "I've talked with him...Not knowing Junior that well, I wanted to make sure we had a line of communication open. He assured me that he'd like to play here and hopefully win a championship."

Griffey is a "10 and 5" player (10 years exp. and 5 years with current club) and would have to approve any trade.

This seems to contradict recent reports of the Mariners interest in Griffey. Hal McCoy reported that the M's sent an executive (not a scout) to watch Griffey play last week. And it was later reported that Seattle had no problems with acquiring Griffey's '09 option at $16MM with a $4MM buyout. It is hard to imagine the M's would express this much public interest in Griffey without at least preliminary discussions with the Reds.

Mariners OK With Griffey's Salary

According to Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News, Ken Griffey Jr.'s remaining $8MM this year and his $16MM option/$4MM buyout next year will not deter the Mariners. The revelation that Junior may not require his '09 option exercised and the chunk of deferred money could indeed make the money a non-issue.

One question is whether the Reds will treat this as a salary dump or if they'll want a decent prospect in return. The other is whether Griffey would want to join the last place Mariners.

mlbtraderumors.com

Win-now focus in Cincy could mean heavy action

by Ken Rosenthal

Alas, the Reds need to rebuild.

That means trading right fielder Ken Griffey Jr., left fielder Adam Dunn and any other veterans who can bring a return. It means promoting outfielder Jay Bruce and any other prospects who can make a difference. It means committing to the future, once and for all.

The Reds seem prepared to at least consider such measures; Jocketty recently asked Griffey if he wanted to be traded, according to a major-league source. Griffey replied that his preference was to stay in Cincinnati and try to turn around the Reds' season. But, he added, if the front office wanted to change direction, he would consider a deal.

Jocketty surely isn't ready to sell off parts, not with the July 31 non-waiver deadline still 10 weeks away. But Cincinnati isn't St. Louis, where Jocketty built contenders year after year. Nor is it Chicago or San Francisco, where Baker was accustomed to managing veteran clubs. To fix the Reds, Jocketty and Baker will need to adopt different mindsets. And Castellini, for once, will need to show patience.

As Johnny Cueto's recent struggles show, prospects do not always progress in linear fashion. At the same time, they need to be given every opportunity to advance. Why are the Reds waiting to promote Bruce, who has a .984 OPS at Class AAA? Corey Patterson, their most frequently used center fielder, needed to go 4-for-5 Monday night to raise his on-base percentage to .276.

The Reds are in last place in the NL Central, seven games back. Perhaps they could try to win while building toward the future, the way the Braves did when they promoted Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann in 2005. But the fact remains: Including Griffey and Dunn, the Reds have 13 potential free agents, the most of any club.

Griffey enjoys full no-trade protection, essentially giving him the right to choose his next team. However, he would not necessarily require a team to exercise his $16.5 million option for 2009 as a condition of a deal. He also is open to a greater number of teams than in the past, when his children were younger and being closer to his home in Orlando was a priority.

The Mariners, the most frequently mentioned possibility for Griffey, are last in the AL with a .579 OPS from the DH spot, yet even further out of first place than the Reds. Griffey, 38, would not be a certain cure-all -- his .717 OPS is more than 200 points below his career mark, and he has gone 63 at-bats since his last home run.

In any case, the next step for the Reds should be obvious. Their management team needs to step backward before going forward, unfamiliar as that path might be.

Keppinger Injury

See the video here.

Janish Gets the Call as Kepp is Out

Louisville Courier Journal
By C.L. Brown

Louisville Bats shortstop Paul Janish was a bit surprised when manager Rick Sweet pulled him from last night's 5-3 victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees before he could bat in the eighth inning.
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"He kind of looked at me startled," Sweet said. "I said, 'Hey, you're going to the big leagues; I don't have time to play you here.' "

Cincinnati director of player personnel Terry Reynolds called Sweet's cell phone in the middle of the eighth and told him that Reds shortstop Jeff Keppinger was injured in last night's game against Florida and that Janish was the man to replace him.

"It's still setting in," Janish said. "It's kind of surreal."

The call-up came at a perfect time for the 25-year-old Houston native. It just so happened that his mother, Debbie, was at last night's game and was set to stay the entire week. His father, Tom, was scheduled to fly here from Houston on Friday.

After being pulled from the game, Janish immediately showered and joined his mother among the 7,348 in the Louisville Slugger Field stands to tell her the news. He also called his father.

"It came at a really good time," he said. "I feel good pretty much doing everything right now, which is ideal. That's half the battle. Hopefully, it will carry over."

Janish, a defensive wizard, will make his major league debut after hitting .293 with the Bats this season. In his last six games he was 9 for 20 with a homer and four RBIs.

"When he came up last year, he struggled at first offensively," Sweet said. "He's matured into a very good player. He deserves this. He's ready to go up there and play and help out."

The Bats made it four straight victories -- their longest winning streak this season -- as pitcher Adam Pettyjohn (4-0) remained perfect in his eighth start.

He had anything but a perfect first inning. He walked leadoff batter Brett Gardner, gave up a bunt single to Justin Christian, then hit Jason Lane to load the bases with none out. But Pettyjohn buckled down, allowing just one run.

The Bats took the lead for good with a three-run second. Janish and Drew T. Anderson had RBI singles, and Janish scored the third run on sheer hustle. When Gardner fell backward on the warning track in center field while catching Andy Green's drive, Janish tagged and scored all the way from second.

The Yankees loaded the bases with none out in the seventh, and reliever Tyler Pelland walked in a run. But Gary Majewski came on and got Christian to ground into a double play and Lane to fly out to center.

The Bats added an insurance run in the seventh on Jolbert Cabrera's triple off right fielder Matt Carson's glove and Jay Bruce's RBI single.

Young Teams Can Win

LetsTalkReds.com's Guest Submitter Rusty Harris

Florida Marlins

Catcher - Mike Rebelo - 28 years old
1st Base - Mike Jacobs - 27 years old
2nd Base - Dan Uggla - 28 years old
Shortstop - Hanley Ramirez - 24 years old
3rd Base - Jorge Cantu - 26 years old
Left Field - Josh Willingham - 29 years old
Center Field - Alfredo Amezaga - 30 years old
Righ Field - Jeremy Hermida - 24 years old

Cincy Reds

Catcher - Paul Bako - 35 years old
1st Base - Joey Votto - 24 years old
2nd Base - Brandon Phillips - 26 years old
Shortstop - Jeff Keppinger - 28 years old
3rd Base - Edwin Encarnacion - 25 years old
Left Field - Adam Dunn - 28 years old
Center Field - Corey Patterson - 28 years old
Right Field - Ken Griffey - 38 years old


Besides Griffey and Bako both the Marlins and Reds are pretty young
teams but there are differences in them

1. Florida Marlins 23 - 14
Cincy Reds 15 - 23

2. Florida Payroll 22 million dollar payroll
Cincy Reds 74 million dollar payroll


My point here is that a young team can win. You dont need the high
paid superstars ( Adam Dunn and Ken Griffey ) to compete. The way the
Florida Marlins play is fun to watch they are a young team that goes
out there and gives it everything they have for 9 innings while on the
other hand sometimes while watching the Reds I dont see that. I love
Ken Griffey he has always been my favorite player but its become time
for the Reds organization to start building teams from within their
own organization and stop paying guys that have no right making the
money there are ( or were ) with the Reds. The Reds have one of the
best farm systems in the Majors and this team is right around the
corner from competing for years to come they just need to stop paying
guys like griffey , dunn , stanton , and others the kind of money they
are making and give the young guys a shot first like the Marlins have
done.

Expect Dunn's big bat to leave Cincinnati

Newsday.com
MIDWEEK INSIDER

Ken Davidoff

11:33 AM EDT, May 14, 2008

Since the start of the 2004 season - the first year there was any sort of testing with discipline for illegal performance-enhancing drugs, for the sake of conversation - David Ortiz leads all major leaguers with 184 home runs.

Then comes Alex Rodriguez with 177, and Albert Pujols with 176.

You can bet $46 million (Kei Igawa cheap shot alert) that none of that trio will be traded in 2008. But you shouldn't bet $46 that number four on the list will remain with his team.

"It's going to happen every year. It's happened every year," said Adam Dunn, who has gone deep 172 times in the past four seasons and change (thanks to the Elias Sports Bureau for the info). "I'm used to it by now. It gets old, and I hate it, but you can't do anything about it. So I just deal with it."

Dunn, the Reds slugger, is talking about his annual involvement in trade discussions. As he pointed out, he has been involved with them since before he was in the big leagues, as the Mariners wanted him in return for Ken Griffey Jr. back in the 1999-2000 offseason.

All that chatter has produced no action, but this year, you'd have to bet on something happening. And given Dunn's power numbers - consider that the distant number five on this list is Paul Konerko, with 152 - the 28-year-old should be the highest-impact bat available to contending teams.

New Reds general manager Walt Jocketty has been non-committal in reports, as well he should be. It's still early, and the Reds have just recorded two straight victories over the National League East-leading Marlins. But the bet here is, come August 1, Dunn will be a Blue Jay, or an Indian, or maybe even a Met. But not a Red.

Here's why:

1. The Reds, while showing hope for the future with youngsters like pitchers Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez and outfielders Jay Bruce (currently in the minors) and outfielder Joey Votto, simply aren't very good. They're far worse than the Cubs, and perhaps even the Cardinals and Astros.

2. Jocketty, unlike his predecessor Wayne Krivsky, has room for error with Cincinnati owner Bob Castellini. Jocketty can take a step back this year, trade away his veterans for prospects and focus on next season and beyond.

3. It wouldn't make sense for the Reds to re-sign Dunn, who is eligible for free agency this coming winter, because of those young outfielders. So if they're not going to make a playoff run, they might as well unload him and get some inventory in return.

For Dunn, who came up to the Reds in 2001 and has suffered through seven straight losing seasons, it's a mixed sensation. He's anxious to go to a team that competes. Yet he sees that the Reds are headed in that direction.

"That's kind of one of those things where I've been through the bad times, now it's kind of on the rise," he said. "I'm hoping to maybe get a chance to stay here, hang out and watch all of these young guys develop. This team is going to be good for a while. I just don't know if I'm going to be here with them."

A team acquiring Dunn won't give up a staggering package of talent for him, since he'll be a mere half-season rental. Yet keep in mind that the Rangers did nicely last July in unloading short-term rentals Eric Gagne (to Boston, for Engel Beltre, Kason Gabbard and David Murphy) and Kenny Lofton (to Cleveland, for highly regarded minor-league catcher Max Ramirez).



Trade Shortage

The early returns on the season indicate even more parity, which is great for the industry but not so great for trade-discussion junkies.

After Dunn, the pickings could be slim on the trade front.

Griffey is a unique entity because he controls his own destiny with his right to refuse any trade. If teams have to exercise Griffey's $16.5 million option for 2009 in order for him to green-light a trade, then it's hard to see him going anywhere. Especially since he's off to such a dreadful start, at age 38.

The Pirates have Xavier Nady, yet he's under team control through next year, so there's not a compelling reason to deal him.

Colorado, if it gives up on this year, could deal third baseman Garrett Atkins and hand the job over to Ian Stewart.

And Lofton is still out there, for any team that wants an energy boost in the outfield.

It would be surprising if we saw a trade approaching last year's significant Mark Teixiera-to-Atlanta deal.

Reds Fan Speaks Out

This is what Rusty Harris had to say...

After watching today's game against the Mets I have came to the
conclusion that time for change has come. Cueto will have his bad
games and great games he is young that is going to happen. Cueto goes
through learning pains this year and is ready for a heavier workload
and have experience going into next year. My question to Red Managment
is Why are you not doing the same with Bailey ? Bring him up NOW and
see how much he has improved from last year you can not judge him on
spring training this year bring him up and give him the starts and see
how far he has come along. Yes , Bailey got hit hard his last outing
at Louisville but that was his first bad outing and Belisle's era
keeps going up so what could it hurt to bring up Bailey. After the
rainout on Friday night Bailey and Belisle are on the same pitching
schedule so it is an easy decision to make when Belisles spot comes
back around DFA Fogg , Belisle to long relief and Bailey to the
rotation. Then there is the Bruce debate and I have heard it from all
angles " he strikes out too much " and " he is not ready yet " well it
is called growing pains and he will go through them just like almost
every rookie does. Yes he does strikeout alot but honestly reds fan do
you want Patterson and Freel in cf right now leading off or would you
rather have a 5 tool player with .300 30 100 potential in the lineup.
Yea its not that hard of a decision. My suggestions are as follows

DFA Fogg
Belisle goes to long relief
Bailey moves into the rotation
Merker DFA
Bray stays
Patterson DFA
Bruce up

Lineup

1. keppinger - shortstop
2. dunn - left field
3. phillips - 2nd base
4. votto - 1st base
5. griffey - right field
6. edwin - 3rd base
7. bruce - centerfield
8. ross / bako - catcher

Rotation

1. Harang
2. Volquez
3. Arroyo
4. Cueto
5. Bailey