Reds call trade talk premature
Suggestions that the struggling Cincinnati Reds might trade outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. during the season are premature, general manager Walt Jocketty said Tuesday without ruling out that it could happen.
The 38-year-old outfielder is in the final guaranteed year of his contract. The Reds have an option to keep him next year for $16.5 million, and could buy out the option for $4 million.
The club’s poor start has sparked speculation that Griffey and others could be traded in July if things don’t improve on the field.
The Reds are 13-21, already nine games out of first place in the N.L. Central.
When he returned to Seattle for an interleague series last June, Griffey suggested he would like to retire as a Mariner.
Union bats for Bonds
The players’ association has expressed concern to the commissioner’s office over the lack of offers to Barry Bonds, asking for additional information about the off-season’s free-agent market.
The 43-year-old outfielder hasn’t received any offers since the San Francisco Giants decided not to re-sign him last year.
Blow up in Chicago
Coming off a 0-6 road trip when they managed just nine runs, the Chicago White Sox returned home and were confronted with more questions about two female blowup dolls than they were about their shaky offense.
Before Sunday’s game in Toronto, an unnamed player positioned two nude blowup dolls in the clubhouse with bats of the players fanning out around them – a ritual of sorts to try and get the team out of its slump.
Some found the shrine more tasteless than amusing. Manager Ozzie Guillen said it was a joke that has been blown out of proportion after it got play in the press.
Clearing the bases:
Barry Zito is returning to the San Francisco Giants starting rotation without having made any relief appearances. Zito will start today’s game in Pittsburgh. … Boston pitcher Curt Schilling tested his ailing shoulder by playing catch on flat ground in Detroit, but he isn’t ready to begin throwing off a mound. … Arizona second baseman Orlando Hudson had an MRI on his sore right hamstring and was out of the lineup in Phoenix.