Dye at home with Sox
Reporters at SoxFest surrounded Jermaine Dye late last month, and the veteran right fielder knew what all the fuss was about.
"You get tired of talking about it," Dye said at the time. "I'm sure I'll give you guys one more shot in spring training to talk about it, and after that, that's it. It gets old, but it's part of the business."
On Friday, Dye again discussed his status at the White Sox' training complex in Glendale, Ariz.
A regular on the off-season rumor mill, Dye appears to be staying put for the year unless the Sox are out of playoff contention when the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline rolls around.
"There may be teams out there that look at me as a player who can help them, but right now I'm with the White Sox, and that's all I care about," Dye told The Associated Press on Friday. "I want to be here to finish off my career and hopefully I will be."
Forced to tighten up the Sox' payroll due to the economy, general manager Kenny Williams was approached by several teams about Dye over the winter.
Considering the 35-year-old outfielder is making $11.5 million this season, Williams likely considered moving Dye and signing a cheaper replacement, possibly Bobby Abreu.
The White Sox denied making Abreu a one-year, $8 million offer, and the free-agent outfielder wound up signing with the Angels for $5 million plus another possible $1 million in incentives.
While Dye has been a productive player for the Sox - he leads all American League outfielders in home runs (137) and RBI (378) since 2005 - it's no secret Williams could have used his salary to sign a player like Abreu as well as another proven regular.
With most other major-league teams feeling the budget pinch as well, Williams was likely asked to absorb some of Dye's salary in any proposed deal.
Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, for one, is thrilled Dye is still on the South Side.
"We don't want to trade him," Guillen said. "A lot of people want him. He knows the business; he's not a kid. He's going to get the truth from me and Kenny about trades. Kenny already told him, 'We're not trading you.'"
While the trade talk figures to fade for the time being, Dye may have to deal with another distraction. The 2005 World Series MVP has a $12 million mutual option for 2010, but the Sox hold a $1 million buyout.
"If something is going to get done, hopefully it's before the season starts," Dye said. "I don't want to have to go through talks like that through a season, just worry about playing baseball. Nothing has been talked about, so I take it as I'm going to go play this year and help this team win and do what I can."
That's exactly what Guillen is expecting from Dye.
"J.D. has to stay healthy and go out there, and he will sign another contract," Guillen said. "It can be here, somewhere else. Make sure that this thing doesn't get to him: 'I got to do this much this year and I got to do this because it's my contract year.' I hope it's not a distraction for him, but it will be mentioned."