Braves interested in signing Griffey Jr.

Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — The Braves are interested in free agent Ken Griffey Jr., and the interest is mutual.

“We have interest in several available outfielders, including Griffey,” Braves general manager Frank Wren said Saturday.

Griffey is “extremely” interested in joining the Braves, according to someone close to Griffey.

It was believed that he was leaning toward returning to Seattle, where he spent the first 11 of his 20 years in the major leagues with the Mariners, but the Braves are Griffey’s first choice, according to the person.

The Braves have searched for a proven run-producer to bolster an outfield that hit a major league-low 27 homers last season. The free-agent pool got smaller last week after Bobby Abreu signed with the Angels and Adam Dunn with the Nationals.

Griffey, 39, has 611 home runs in 20 major-league seasons. He hit .249 with 18 homers and 71 RBIs last season with Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox.

He’s a 13-time All-Star and 1997 American League MVP, and he lives in Orlando, a short drive from the Braves’ Disney World spring-training site. Griffey has known manager Bobby Cox for many years and has many times expressed a desire to play for him and the Braves.

In 1986, Cox traded for Griffey’s father, Ken Sr., when Cox was the Braves’ general manager. The bond between Cox and the younger Griffey started then and has remained strong.

Griffey, one of the finest defensive center fielders in history, was slowed in 2008 by a knee injury that required postseason surgery and wide-ranging injuries have plagued him this decade. The 10-time Gold Glove winner is just a serviceable defensive player these days, but there’s no doubt Griffey can still hit right-handed pitching.

In 2008, he hit .272 with 14 homers and a .372 on-base percentage in 327 at-bats against righties.

While his numbers have eroded against lefties, Griffey continues to pound righties. Since 2006, he’s hit .284 with 53 homers in 945 at-bats against them, and .216 with 22 homers in 501 at-bats vs. lefties.

He would seem a suitable platoon partner in left field for the right-handed hitting Matt Diaz, who has a .328 career average with 18 homers and a robust .869 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) in 478 at-bats against lefties.

Griffey is spending the weekend attending the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-am golf tournament in Pebble Beach, Calif., but he could make a decision on his future early this week.

Griffey’s daughter, Taryn, 13, plays for the Georgia Ice, an AAU girls basketball team based in Norcross. His 15-year-old son, Trey, will play varsity football for the first time this fall as a sophomore at an Orlando high school. It would be easier for Griffey to travel to Orlando from Atlanta than from Seattle to see his son’s games.