When the White Sox claimed Alex Rios from the Blue Jays in August it spelled the end of Jermaine Dye’s time in the Windy City (unless he signs with the Cubs). The White Sox will likely be giving him a $1 million dollar buyout rather than paying him $12 million bucks for the 2010 season. The 35-year old righty swinging Dye played in 141 games last season in which he was 126 for 503 (.250 avg, .793 OPS) with 78 runs scored, 27 homers and 81 RBIs. In his five years with the White Sox, Dye played in 724 games in which he was 742 for 2,669 (.278 avg, .869 OPS) with 419 runs scored, 164 homers and 461 RBIs. The White Sox will miss his professionalism in RF and he will hopefully find a new job that he likes over the winter.

UPDATE: The White Sox have declined Jermaine Dye’s option ending his time in Chicago.

31-year old lefty swinging outfielder DeWayne Wise has refused an outright assignment to AAA making him a unrestricted free agent. Wise played in 84 games for the White Sox this season and he was 32 for 142 (.225 avg, .628 OPS) with 17 runs scored, 2 homers, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Wise is best remembered for making the outstanding catch that preserved Mark Buehrle’s perfect game over the summer. But that wasn’t enough to keep him on the roster and that was the right decision for the White Sox to make as they can find a better backup outfielder to come off the bench over the winter. Wise played in 141 games in two years with the White Sox and he was 64 for 271 (.236 avg, .683 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 8 homers, 29 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. For all of you D-Wise lovers out there he has played in 324 games in his 7-year career in the majors and he is 132 for 610 (.216 avg, .636 OPS) with 82 runs scored, 17 homers, 61 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. He is what he is going to be at this point in his career and that is a AAA outfielder.

The White Sox exercised an option for the 2010 season on Matt Thornton for $2.25 million bucks. He pitched in 70 games out of the bullpen for the Pale Hose last season and he was 6-3 with 4 saves, a 2.74 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. In four years with the White Sox, Thornton has pitched in 275 games (0 starts) in which he is 20-13 with 9 saves, a 3.31 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Rumors abound that the White Sox will be shopping Bobby Jenks with the idea of using Thornton as the closer next season. He should be able to do a good job for the White Sox in any role they use him in next season. He only has allowed 211 hits in 250 innings with the White Sox while whiffing 268 batters which shows that he has the swing and miss stuff to be a good closer.

34-year old Freddy Garcia showed the Pale Hose enough for them to exercise his 2010 option worth $1 million bucks plus a possible $2 million dollars in incentives. Garcia started 9 games for the White Sox this season and he was 3-4 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. He will likely slot in as the #5 starter for the White Sox in 2010. Garcia has now pitched 4 years with the White Sox in which he has started 91 games and he is 43-25 with a 4.25 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Based on how he pitched at the end of the season it was worth the risk to re-sign Garcia who has always pitched pretty well when he has been healthy in his career.