Griffey Drawing Interest

I think the question with Griffey is not so much the contract or the incentives, but whether he is willing to take a reduction in the number of AB's. There may be 9 teams interested, but how many of those teams are willing to say they will give 500-600 AB's if he stays healthy?

"How is Griffey drawing a lot of interest but Adam Dunn isn't?"

Dunn = 164 K in 517 AB
Griffey = 89K in 490 AB

Oakland A's
Tampa Bay Rays
*Seattle Mariners*
Chicago White Sox
Toronto Blue Jays
Baltimore Orioles
Atlanta Braves
San Francisco Giants
Chicago Cubs

These are the teams i could see a fit with...
Keep in mind Baltimore wanted Griffey a couple of years ago and are accustomed to signing older veterans

Mets make sense but i dont know if Omar Minaya is willing to sign another aging outfielder like Griffey(even though i still really like Griffey) I think Omar is more comfortable seeing what Dan Murphy can do.

""How is Griffey drawing a lot of interest but Adam Dunn isn't?"

Dunn = 164 K in 517 AB
Griffey = 89K in 490 AB"

Seriously. An out is an out is an out.

1. No manager generally asks for a HR threat, like Dunn/Griffey, to bunt. If you have an offensive threat at the plate with runners on, he hits.

2. Yes, groundouts and flyouts might move runners ahead. Groundouts are also more likely to be turned into double plays.

3. The best thing a player can do in an AB is not make an out. Apparantly, with Dunn's .400+ OBP, he makes an out a lot less than someone who has much less K's, but a lower OBP.

The reason Griffey is drawing more interest than Adam Dunn is because he comes on a 1 year deal, while Dunn will probably garner a multiyear deal. The big sluggers (Dunn, Burrell, Abreu, etc.) will start garnering more interest once Teixeira and/or Manny are off the market.

Baltimore does have new management since that interest but the owner Peter Angelos the one who expressed interest in Griffey is still there. I call it as a long shot but it could happen.

"Dunn = 164 K in 517 AB
Griffey = 89K in 490 AB"

Are you a flippin' moron? Those numbers basically have nothing to do with production. Try looking at more relevant stats...
Dunn:
40 HR (5 straight years), 100 RBI, .898 OPS, healthy enough to play 158 games

Griffey:
18 HR, 71 RBI, .778 OPS, over the hill, always a health risk

I love the Kid, but unfortunately his days are numbered. He still puts butts in the seats though. His value would be highest in Seattle, but elsewhere he is barely a decent corner outfielder anymore.

Seems like Griffey makes most sense to Seattle & Baltimore. I guess Atlanta could use him in LF. As a Braves fan, though, I'd rather not.

"There is no way the Red Sox are interested in Griffey. They seem to want a right-handed bat off the bench for the outfielder and need a guy who can play all three positions reasonably well. Griffey is not that guy anymore."

Why am I hearing Rocco Baldelli's name tied to the Red Sox then? Baldelli would be a much WORSE choice for the job you mention than Griffey. Only advantage Rocco has is that he's right handed.

Rolling Night Hawk-

See: Bedard trade, Tejada trade. Angelos is giving the GM more breathing room, and with those two trades, its paid off (major dividends in terms of farm system, down the road).

He does make sense for Baltimore... does he sign there? i dont think so thats why i have the quotes around the Mariners because in my opinion they are the favorites.
In USA Today:
Griffey mentioned his desire to "finish where he began" his career.

"Griffey makes NO sense for Baltimore."

Agreed.

melonis rex,

You're far from the first person to make the mistake, and I think its mostly an overreaction to traditional baseball fans opinion on Dunn, but Dunn is definitely not a .400+ OBP guy. He had a .400 OBP exactly his first full season in the bigs and since then he hasn't even broken .390. Dunn does draw a ton of walks, but his terrible AVG keeps him from putting up great OBP numbers. Don't get me wrong, I love the guy for his power and eye, but his inability to hit for average and sub par defense definitely keep him from being a great player.

nixa37- My bad. .370-.380 OBP is still really, really good though. He's still top 20 in MLB in OBP, and puts up very strong OPS numbers.

How is Griffey getting attention while the market for Coco Crisp was minimal? I'm a Sox fan (of the red variety) so I fail to see why Theo was only able to get Ramirez for Coco. Can somebody enlighten me?

Not all of these teams would be smart ideas though.

NL: (Griffey to the NL makes no sense unless its as a 4th OF role)
Mets
Braves
Cubs

AL:
M's
Angels
Rays
Red Sox
White Sox (makes no sense, no open DH spot, although KW stupidly played him at CF in '08)
Rangers???

The rangers makes no sense either they have depth in the of, with a few good prospects getting ready to come up. plus they a lefty heavy. imo TB make the most sense, they need a dh and he would fit perfectly into the lineup. i still think he finishes his career with seattle but i dont think this is his last year. i don't think the red sox make sense either they are trying to go younger and i think their efforts to improve the lineup focuses on texeira. the white sox and angels dont really seem like good fits either. and any nl team would likely want to platoon him. i think it comes down to tb or seattle

I have to admit, I know very little about Ramirez, but it seems to me that if all these clubs are interested in Griffey, why couldn't Theo generate a little more interest for Coco?

However I do agree with you after looking into Ramirez a little bit more.

"Why am I hearing Rocco Baldelli's name tied to the Red Sox then? Baldelli would be a much WORSE choice for the job you mention than Griffey. Only advantage Rocco has is that he's right handed."

Lol @ hearing

Baldelli is still capable of above average defense at all 3 OF positions. Plus he's got some upside with his bat and he is right handed. Three things Griffey does not bring to the table.

Not that it matters but Rocco is also a hometown kid, grew up a Sox fan so there is that useless sentimental connection.

rays 09

1. A. Iwamura 2B
2. C. Crawford LF
3. B. Upton CF
4. E. Longoria 3B
5. K. Griffey Jr. DH
6. C. Pena 1B
7. D. Navarro C
8. J. Bartlett SS
9. F. Perez RF

z

How much is Junior going to want for a year? Is it cheap enough for the Dbacks? They need a left handed power hitter.

"How much is Junior going to want for a year? Is it cheap enough for the Dbacks? They need a left handed power hitter."

I'd say 4-5, with incentives. I think DBacks could pull that off.

If the Rays can pick up Griffey it'd be a great pick up...They can use him as a DH and he'd get a chance to a World Series and he also lives in Florida so theres another reason he'd quickly sign with the Rays.

I'd imagine the Rays could find much better options for DH than Griffey. Yeah, at one point Griffey was great, but at this point he is nothing more than an average to below average RF. If you put him at DH, well you're really just wasting that money as its not very hard to find a guy who can DH and post an OPS+ of around 100

I think that the Mariners are waiting for Raul's decision before diving headlong into Griffey discussions. But the fact is that Raul is not coming back. That said, the Mariners have major questions surrounding 2 outfield spots. And seeing how Ichiro should be back in CF in 2009, that would leave holes/questions in LF, RF and DH. That combined with the lack of depth in the upper minors, this is the perfect time for Griffey to come back to Seattle. The fans need something to come to the park for.

Exactly.

If he signs with the Mariners, he would get a full time spot in LF or RF mixed with DHing. If he wants to sign with a contender going after a title, he better be content with being a part time player.