The Cincinnati Reds are awaiting word from Ken Griffey Jr. on whether he’ll accept a tentative trade to the Chicago White Sox.
The Reds approached Griffey on Wednesday night in Houston and asked if he would waive his contractual rights to accept a deal to the White Sox, said a baseball source. Griffey has the right to veto any trade because he has 10 years of major league service time and five years with the Reds.
The tentative trade was first reported by FOXSports.com. It is unknown what other player or players are involved in the deal.
Griffey, 38, is hitting .245 with 15 home runs for Cincinnati this season. On June 9, he joined Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Sammy Sosa as the sixth player in history to hit 600 homers.
While the Reds (51-58) languish in their division, the White Sox (60-46) lead the AL Central by 1½ games over the Minnesota Twins and 5½ over the Detroit Tigers.
Griffey hit his 15th home run of the season in Wednesday night’s 9-5 win over Houston. It was the 608th of his career, moving him within one of Sosa for fifth on all-time list. Griffey extended his hitting streak to 12 games and has 1,139 extra-base hits, one behind Ty Cobb for 10th all-time.
Credit: ESPN
