Griffey Sr. May Get Chance to Join His Son on Mariners

The Cincinnati Reds agreed today to put Ken Griffey Sr. on waivers, clearing the way for him to team up with his son, Ken Jr., on the Seattle Mariners.

The Reds’ move capped several days of negotiations among Griffey’s agent, the Reds, the Mariners, the major league players’ association and the National League, according to a source familiar with the talks.

Griffey, 40, voluntarily retired Saturday to open a roster spot for the Reds, who wanted to call up rookie pitcher Chris Hammond to start that day. He was unaware at the time that by retiring, he made himself ineligible to play for any team for 60 days.

One of Griffey’s dreams is to play on the same team with his son. They became the first father-son combination to play in the major leagues at the same time last season when Ken Jr. was called up by the Mariners and Griffey played for the Reds.

Griffey’s agent, Brian Goldberg, spoke to the Reds and finally reached an agreement today to have the team place Griffey on waivers--making him eligible to play for any team that claims him.

Griffey can be claimed on waivers by another club, including the Mariners. If he goes unclaimed for three days, he’s free to negotiate an agreement with any club of his choice.

A club that claims him off waivers would have to pick up the rest of his salary for the season.

Goldberg said Griffey would like to play for the Mariners the last month of the season, when rosters are expanded. He said he’s confident such an agreement will be worked out.

Woody Woodward, the Mariners’ general manager, wasn’t immediately available for comment at the team hotel in Kansas City, where the Mariners are playing a weekend series.

Earlier this week, Woodward said of the elder Griffey, “We’d love to have him if he’s interested.”