Dye departs as Teahen arrives, Beckham shifts to second

Friday was a big day of comings and goings for the White Sox.

First, the Sox declined to pick up the 2010 mutual option on right fielder Jermaine Dye. Instead, they'll pay Dye a $950,000 buyout even as general manager Kenny Williams wouldn't completely shut the door on bringing back Dye.

Second, they announced the trade everybody in Chicago had been talking about since Thursday as they sent infielders Josh Fields and Chris Getz to the Kansas City Royals for infielder-outfielder Mark Teahen and cash considerations.

The deal had to wait for the approval of the commissioner's office because of the money, which reportedly could have totaled about $1 million.

The main upshot from the trade, however, is that Teahen will play third base with Gordon Beckham moving from third to second.

That was all good news for the 28-year-old Teahen.

"It's huge, it's huge," Teahen said. "The past three years, I haven't known where I'm going to play. The past 24 hours, I haven't known what city I'm going to play in. Knowing what city I'll be in and knowing I'll be at one position, and that being third base, is huge because I came up through the minor leagues as a third baseman, and the first couple years in the big leagues were at third base.

"I got the majority of this year at third base, and that's really my comfort position. I can handle the outfield and play there, but obviously third base is my best overall position."

The left-handed hitting Teahen played in 144 games for the Royals this year, starting 99 at third base. He batted .271 with 12 homers, 50 RBI. His on-base percentage of .325 and slugging percentage of .408 combined for an OPS of .734.

Beckham is a candidate for Rookie of the Year in the American League. In 103 games for the Sox, he batted .270 with 14 homers, 63 RBI, a .347 OBP and a .460 slugging percentage for an OPS of .808.

"I had a very good conversation with Gordon prior to pulling the trigger on this deal, and he's all for it and ready to go," said White Sox general manager Kenny Williams. "He played second base in the Arizona Fall League a couple of years ago, and I have no doubts that he can handle the position. He actually has a better profile at the position, and this entire thing makes us better."

The Bill James Handbook projects Beckham to hit 21 homers and drive in 96 next year while batting .288 with an OBP of .360 and a slugging percentage of .477.

As for Dye, the MVP of the 2005 World Series left a positive impression on Williams.

"I did play around with some deals that might create space or might create a fit for J.D. at this time," Williams said. "I didn't happen at this juncture, but I don't think you can rule it out because it's a long off-season. We just got started. Everyone knows I think the world of this guy."

Dye, 35, would have made $12 million in 2010. This year, he batted .250 with 27 homers and 81 RBI. After hitting .302 in the first half, Dye tailed off to .179 in the second half.

Getz batted .261 in 107 games this year before his season ended with sports-hernia surgery. Fields, once seemingly the heir apparent to Joe Crede at third base, batted .222 in 79 games.

"When the news hits you, it's kind of shocking," Getz told WMVP radio in Chicago. "I'm looking at it as a positive. There's no other way to look at it."

With the off-season just beginning, Williams said money will be an issue.

"Money's tight," he said. "Money's tight all over the world, and certainly on the South Side. We know where the break-even numbers are. We're going to spend whatever we have available."

Williams did not seem to think he could get a deal done with outfielder Scott Podsednik, who filed for free agency, but he did leave the door open for a possible return of DH Jim Thome, whom Williams traded to the Dodgers late in the season.

"I have ultimate respect for Jimmy, so we might have to revisit that at some point," Williams said. "He's probably going to want to go out there and see what's available to him initially. As far as Podsednik is concerned, we've already had talks and little bit of back-and-forth dialogue with him. I think that's not likely based on what he wants. We'll just have to keep getting after it in other areas."

On Friday, the Sox bought out Jermaine Dye's contract and sent two players (Chris Getz and Josh Fields) to Kansas City for third baseman Mark Teahan. Here's a comparison on their careers and best years:

Jermaine Dye's five seasons with the White Sox:

724 games

2669 at-bats

419 runs

742 hits

150 doubles

8 triples

164 home runs

461 RBI

23 stolen bases

251 walks

536 strikeouts

.278 batting average

.344 OBP

.525 SLG

.869 OPS

Dye's best season: 2006

103 runs

170 hits

44 home runs

120 RBI

.315 batting average

.385 OBP

.622 SLG

1.006 OPS

Mark Teahen's five seasons with Royals:

676 games

2480 at-bats

343 runs

667 hits

146 doubles

24 triples

59 home runs

293 RBI

42 stolen bases

218 walks

573 strikeouts

.269 batting average

.331 OBP

.419 SLG

.749 OPS

Teahen's best season: 2006

70 runs

114 hits

21 doubles

7 triples

18 home runs

69 RBI

.357 OBP

.517 SLG

.874 OPS

Josh Fields' for seasons with the White Sox:

204 games

664 at-bats

90 runs

152 hits

25 doubles

3 triples

31 home runs

101 RBI

3 stolen bases

68 walks

226 strikeouts

.229 batting average

.302 OBP

.416 SLG

.718 OPS

Fields' best season: 2007

54 runs

91 hits

17 doubles

23 home runs

67 RBI

.308 OBP

.480 SLG

.788 OPS

Chris Getz' two seasons with the White Sox:

117 games

382 at-bats

51 runs

100 hits

18 doubles

4 triples

2 home runs

32 RBI

26 stolen bases

30 walks

55 strikeouts

.262 batting average

.323 OBP

.346 SLG

.669 OPS

Getz's best season: 2009

49 runs

98 hits

18 doubles

4 triples

31 RBI

25 stolen bases

.324 OBP

.347 SLG

.670 OPS

Source: Baseball-Reference.com