Ken Griffey, Jr. is one of the greatest players in the history of baseball. No question about it. Just not any more. If there is any question about whether or not Griffey has used any PEDs, check the stats; Junior’s been in decline for years, even when he wasn’t hurt. He had every right to sign wherever he wanted, and any team would have been lucky to have his seat-filling name on their roster.  But he would have been a terrible fit for his most commonly linked suitor, the Atlanta Braves.

The Braves need a left-handed hitting complement to platoon with Matt Diaz in left field, and Griffey certainly qualified for half of that need. The only problem is the whole “left field” thing. At this point in this career, he should pretty much just change the “JR” to a “DH.” It’s the only way to get proper value out of him. Over the last 5 years, his average run value in the field is a startling NEGATIVE 21.8. (To give some perspective, the oft-maligned glove of Manny Ramirez has only been negative 12.6 runs in more games over that same time period.) Any positive contributions he would make with his bat would be completely negated by his woeful defensive play.

The free agent the Braves should be going after is Garret Anderson. His projected stat line of .277/.319/.428 is fairly similar to Griffey’s projected line of .248/.336/.434. But where Anderson really pulls away is in defense. When he was finally healthy last year, he was able to contribute 9.3 runs of value defensively. He is actually a plus defender compared to Griffey’s defensive liability.

 

I actually know how to use one of these!

Junior’s signing with the Mariners is a blessing in disguise for the  Braves. They won’t be burdened by having to play an aging superstar; they won’t have to adjust their lineup to fit him into his usual number 3 three slot; and they can actually take the time to sign the right player for them now, Mr. Garret Anderson.

Good luck, Frank Wren!