FOX Sports on MSN - Ken Rosenthal - Griffey accepts trade to White Sox

Ken Griffey Jr. has never played in a World Series. Now he might get his chance.

The Chicago White Sox acquired Griffey from the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday, hoping the 38-year-old outfielder has enough left to help them hold onto their slim lead in the AL Central.

The Reds sent Griffey and cash to Chicago for reliever Nick Masset and Triple-A second baseman Danny Richar. The deal was announced a half-hour before the 4 p.m. EDT deadline to make trades without waivers.

Griffey, who hit his 600th home run this season, agreed to the trade earlier in the day. But because of the cash transaction involved, the deal did not become official until the commissioner's office approved it.

"Ozzie has the opportunity to field his best team, offensively and defensively, on a day-to-day basis over the next two months," White Sox GM Ken Williams said. "And this gives us a chance to keep some of our middle-of-the-order hitters fresh and producing down the stretch.

"I spoke with Ken, and he is excited to be coming to Chicago to try to help us reach the postseason," he said.

Griffey had the right to block a deal as a player with at least 10 years of major-league service, five with the same club. He did not receive any form of compensation for waiving his no-trade protection.

The White Sox, leading the AL Central by 1 ½ games, would use Griffey mostly in the outfield, the source said. However, they do not have an obvious spot for Griffey unless they make another trade.

The Sox are set at the corners with Carlos Quentin in left and Jermaine Dye in right. They could play Nick Swisher at first to open center for Griffey, a move that would reduce the playing time of first baseman Paul Konerko and designated hitter Jim Thome. But Griffey has not played center regularly since 2006.

Griffey, earning $12.5 million this season in the final year of his contract, is owed more than $4 million in salary, plus a $4 million buyout for 2009. The Reds agreed to pay some of the money left on Griffey's contract to get the deal done.

The Reds were interested in dealing Griffey because of the size of his contract and their plummet after the All-Star break, which dropped them back to near the bottom of the NL Central, 13 1/2 games out of first place. The Reds haven't had a winning season since 2000.

The trade that united Griffey with the Reds in 2000 was hailed as a major breakthrough for the franchise, but turned out to be far less than expected. After the 2002 season, former general manager Jim Bowden tried to trade Griffey to San Diego for Phil Nevin, who used his no-trade clause to block the deal.

Bowden was trying to work out a deal with the Yankees in 2003 before Griffey got hurt. The White Sox attempted to acquire Griffey from the Reds at the trade deadline in 2005, but the trade reportedly was nixed by Reds ownership for financial reasons.

Griffey is batting .245 this season with a .355 on-base percentage, 15 home runs and 53 RBIs in 359 at-bats.

Masset, a righty, was 1-0 with a 4.63 ERA in 32 games for Chicago. Richar hit .262 with nine homers for Triple-A Charlotte.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.