The White Sox have announced that individual-game tickets for home games will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 12.

Fans may order tickets through the team's Web site, www.whitesox.com, or by phone at (866) SOX-GAME.

Beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 13, tickets will be available at the U.S. Cellular Field Box Office, the Bulls-Sox Training Academy, and TicketMaster locations throughout the region.

Before the general sale, White Sox season ticket holders (81- and 27-game plans) will have access to individual-game tickets through an Internet pre-sale Monday, Feb. 8. "Ozzie Plan" (13 games) ticket holders may buy extra tickets through a pre-sale on Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Members of the Sox Pride Club, the official online fan club of the White Sox, have a special Internet pre-sale on Wednesday, Feb. 10, and members of the Black List, the free and official whitesox.com fan headquarters, will have access to individual-game tickets on Feb. 11.

All fans still have the opportunity to join the Sox Pride Club at www.soxprideclub.com or whitesox.com. Fans may become members of the Black List at no charge by visiting whitesox.com.

Full Season ticket plans (81 games) for the 2010 season are still available, along with Split Season (27 games) and Ozzie Plans (13 games), by visiting whitesox.com. Group tickets and party areas also are available by calling (312) 674-1000.

The Cubs finalized their one-year deal with free-agent outfielder Xavier Nady on Friday.

Nady, 31, reportedly will receive $3.3 million to come to the North Side. The former Yankees outfielder could earn up to $2 million in performance incentives based on games played.

Nady is coming off of a second Tommy John surgery that limited him to seven games in 2009, and he had to pass a physical before officially joining the Cubs. He combined for 25 home runs and 97 RBIs with the Pirates and Yankees in his last healthy season in 2008.

Nady (6-0, 180) bats and throws right-handed. He is a career .308 hitter against left-handed pitchers and a career .270 hitter against right-handed pitchers, and he has hit .304 in 28 games at Wrigley Field.

The Cubs expect Nady to platoon with Kosuke Fukudome in right field along with providing occasional breaks for Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee.

The Cubs also had interest in Jermaine Dye, Jonny Gomes and Reed Johnson for their fourth outfielder position. Those players appear to be out of the picture with Nady on board.

Nady, who lives in San Diego, already has made his mark on Cubs' history. According to the team, he is the first player in franchise history to have his first name begin with the letter "X."

-Tom Musick

The Cubs appear to have settled on free agent Xavier Nady as their fourth outfielder.

Xavier Nady will sign a one-year deal to join the Cubs, provided that he passes a physical later this week, according to multiple reports. That is not a guarantee, however, because Nady is coming off of his second Tommy John surgery that limited him to seven games in 2009.

If Nady passes the physical, he likely will platoon with Kosuke Fukudome in right field and provide insurance behind Alfonso Soriano and Derrek Lee. The 31-year-old Nady is a .280 career hitter who combined for 25 home runs and 97 RBIs in his last healthy season in 2008.

Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman reported that Nady's deal calls for him to earn $3.3 million, plus up to $2 million more in performance incentives based on games played.

Nady (6-0, 180) bats and throws right-handed. He played in the National League for San Diego and Pittsburgh before joining the New York Yankees, where injuries limited his playing time.

The Cubs also had interest in Jermaine Dye, Jonny Gomes and Reed Johnson for their fourth outfielder position. Those players appear to be out of the picture unless Nady fails his physical.

In other news, free-agent pitcher Ben Sheets signed with the Oakland Athletics. The Cubs were rumored to have interest in Sheets, who won 86 games in eight seasons with Milwaukee.

-Tom Musick

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen told veteran slugger Jim Thome he won't be asked to rejoin the team as a designated hitter.

Thome, who played three-plus seasons with the White Sox before he was traded to the Dodgers on Aug. 31, was interested in returning to Chicago.

General manager Ken Williams gave Guillen the final call on the move, and Guillen decided he couldn't give Thome enough at-bats to justify bringing him back.

"I play him once a week or twice a week. I don't think it was fair for him," Guillen said Monday.

Guillen talked to Thome on Sunday and said the veteran slugger understood the situation.

During the team's winter convention last weekend, Williams said he would leave it up to Guillen to decide whether the popular Thome would be a good fit to return.

"It's a tough conversation when you release somebody. We didn't release Jim, we just don't have him back," Guillen said. "He's a friend. He's a (respected) player. The way we feel about him. It's not easy."

Thome, who will be 40 in August, has 564 career homers, including 134 in his three-plus seasons with the White Sox.

The Twins are reportedly interested in signing Thome.

-The Associated Press

The White Sox signed John Danks to a one-year, $3.45 million deal Tuesday to avoid salary arbitration, while the Cubs signed five players to avoid arbitration.

The Cubs reached one-year agreements with infielders Jeff Baker and Mike Fontenot, catcher Koyie Hill, right-handed pitcher Angel Guzman and left-handed pitcher Tom Gorzelanny. They have yet to reach agreements with three other players, including Ryan Theriot, Carlos Marmol and Sean Marshall, but that does not necessarily mean their cases will go to arbitration.

Fontenot's deal was reported to be worth $1 million, while Baker will earn $975,000, Guzman will earn $825,000, Gorzelanny will earn $800,000, and Hill will earn $700,000.

Danks was the final arbitration-eligible player remaining for the Sox. The 24-year-old southpaw was 13-11 with a 3.77 ERA in 32 starts last season, when he set career highs in wins and innings pitched. He limited opponents to a .245 batting average, which was fourth-lowest against left-handed pitchers in the American League.

As for the Cubs, Baker and Fontenot are expected to share duties at second base. Baker hit .305 with four home runs and 21 RBIs in 69 games on the North Side last season, while Fontenot hit .236 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs in 135 games.

Hill, 30, is expected to return as the backup catcher to Geovany Soto. He hit .237 with two home runs and 24 RBIs in 83 games last season, and he threw out 20 of 50 attempted base-stealers.

Guzman, 28, was 3-3 with a 2.95 ERA and one save in 55 relief appearances. He is expected to be one of the primary setup men for Marmol, who replaced Kevin Gregg as the team's closer.

Gorzelanny, 27, was 7-3 with a 5.55 ERA in 22 games, including seven starts, between Pittsburgh and Chicago. He will compete for job in the starting rotation.

-Tom Musick