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By Sean Connolly

After joining the elite 600 home run club last week, it looks as if Ken Griffey Jr. may be headed to the Tampa Bay Rays. A report says that Griffey Jr. will consider waiving his no trade clause to join the surprising Rays. The Reds are 12.5 games back in the central division in last place and Griffey is still searching for a ring. Whether he’ll find it with the Rays is another question.

Why would Griffey join the Rays? I’m not too sure. If he’s looking for a ring I don’t understand why he would go to a franchise who hasn’t even made it to the playoffs yet. The only thing I can take from this is that he either see something more in the Rays or that he’s just looking to end his career in beautiful Tampa Bay.

Hearing this news both confused me and excited me. Watching Ken Griffey Jr. on the Seattle Mariners was so exciting and this could mean that he could actually end up on a team who actually have some sort of up side. Since his arrival in 2000 to Cincinnati, he has found nothing but injuries and no playoff appearances. Seeing him play on a team with something to play for will definetely ignite his play and garner more interest in one of the best home run hitters of all time. But again, why Tampa Bay? Maybe, just maybe, the Rays are actually going to take advantage of a solid core of players, hold on to them, and continue to build around them to establish a winning franchise. We may finally see a playoff team in Tampa Bay.

So, will the Rays trade for Griffey? I don’t see it happening. Knowing that Griffey is now on the market you will now start seeing the bigger teams begin to get into the Griffey sweepstakes. You know Steinbrenner and the Yankees are salivating at the thought of Ken Griffey Jr. on the open market, and don’t be surprised to see a team like the Chicago Cubs try and snag Griffey. The Cubs acquisition of Jim Edmonds has not been going as planned and Griffey could easily step into his role. Overall I just fear the weaker Rays will be eaten up by the bigger sharks in the water and buy out Griffey. But who knows maybe Griffey will end up a Tampa Bay Ray for the rest of his career.