Griffey to the White Sox is a No-Lose Situation for Chicago

Ken Griffey Jr. may not be the best player of our lifetime anymore.

He's not the most feared hitter in baseball. He's not a gold glove candidate and he's no longer a superstar.

But what's important for the Chicago White Sox in acquiring Griffey from the Cincinnati Reds Thursday is that he's a low-risk, high-reward acquisition.

If the White Sox had dealt the farm for Griffey this move would be atrocious. Had they given the Reds Josh Fields, Clayton Richard, or Gordan Beckham in the deal, critics would be slamming Kenny Williams, as they did when Williams gave up three minor leaguers, including top pitching prospect Royce Ring, for an over-the-hill Roberto Alomar in 2003.

But Williams didn't. Instead, he gave up a middle reliever who has been horrid of late in Nick Masset and a mediocre minor league second baseman in Danny Richar.

That, alone, makes this deal a very smart one by Williams.

Sure, Griffey has struggled this year, hitting only .245 thus far. And it's true that the White Sox don't have a legitimate position to put him unless they were to bench the struggling fan-favorite Paul Konerko (hitting only .214). But the fact that the White Sox gave up virtually nothing for him makes it fine for the team if he doesn't work out.

Say Griffey flops immediately in Chicago and struggles hitting and in the field. Say he blows out his ACL in August. While it would be a huge hit because the team hopes Griffey can be a huge contributor, the White Sox wouldn't necessarily be done because they didn't give up their season for Griffey. Instead, they would go back to the same lineup they had through July (which got them off to a 60-46 record and a 1 1/2 game lead in the division).

But say Griffey jumps in the "rejuvenation machine" and starts hitting like he's capable and playing decent centerfield, the deal immediately goes from being a solid acquisition to a genius move by Williams.

And it's possible that it could happen. Chicago's a die-hard baseball town and playing in a pennant race in front of extremely passionate fans could get Griffey going. After all, he hasn't played in a true playoff race since 1997 with the Mariners.

Additionally, playing under a manager like Ozzie Guillen, unlike any manager Griffey's played for since Lou Piniella, could light a fire under him as well.

So it's possible that the trade could flop. Griffey could become a bust and the team could miss the playoffs. While disappointing, it wouldn't be because of Williams' move. But the reward if Griffey pays off is incredibly higher then the impact if the trade fails.