After five seasons on the South Side, it appears that Jermaine Dye's run with the White Sox has come to an end.

Meanwhile, the Sox confirmed a day-old rumor when they announced Friday morning that they had traded Chris Getz and Josh Fields to the Kansas City Royals for Mark Teahen.

Both news releases are below.

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Sox decline $12M option on Dye

CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox have bought out the 2010 mutual option on outfielder Jermaine Dye. As per the terms of his contract, Dye will receive a buyout payment of $950,000 in lieu of a $12,000,000 salary for 2010. Dye will be eligible to file for free agency.

Dye, 35, batted .250 (126-503) with 27 home runs and 81 RBI in 141 games with the White Sox in 2009.

Dye is a career .274 (1,779-6,487) hitter with 325 home runs and 1,072 RBI in 1,763 games over 14 major-league seasons with Atlanta (1996), Kansas City (1997-2001), Oakland (2001-04) and the White Sox (2005-09). He is one of 18 active players with 300 home runs and 1,000 RBI, reaching both career milestones during the 2009 campaign.

In five seasons with the Sox, Dye hit .278 (742-,2,669) with 164 homers and 461 RBI. His 164 home runs rank seventh in franchise history. Dye was named Most Valuable Player of the 2005 World Series as the White Sox captured their first championship since 1917.

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Sox acquire Mark Teahen for Getz, Fields

CHICAGO – The Chicago White Sox have acquired infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen and cash considerations from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for infielders Chris Getz and Josh Fields.

Teahen, 28, hit .271 (142-524) with a career-high 34 doubles, 12 home runs and 50 RBI in 144 games with the Royals in 2009. He made 99 starts at third base, 31 in right field and three at second.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder is a career .269 (667-2,480) hitter with 146 doubles, 24 triples, 59 home runs and 293 RBI in 676 career games, all with Kansas City (2005-09). He was named the Royals Player of the Year in 2006 after establishing career bests in average (.290), home runs (18) and RBI (69).

Teahen, who bats left-handed, appeared in two games with Canada in the most recent World Baseball Classic, going 1-6 with two walks.

He originally was drafted by Oakland as a sandwich pick (39th overall) in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft and later traded to the Royals in 2004, along with right-handed pitcher Mike Wood, in exchange for right-hander Octavio Dotel and cash considerations.

Getz, 26, hit .261 (98-375) with 18 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 31 RBI and 25 stolen bases in 107 games with the White Sox in 2009. He ranked among the AL rookie leaders in stolen bases (3rd), doubles (T4th), runs scored (5th, 49) and hits (5th).

The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder led the AL in stolen base percentage last season (92.6) and finished with the ninth-highest, single-season stolen base total by a rookie in club history.

Fields, 27, appeared in 79 games with Chicago last season, going 53-239 (.222) with seven home runs and 30 RBI. He also batted .265 (26-98) in 27 games with Class AAA Charlotte.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pounder led all AL rookies with 23 home runs in 2007 and hit .229 (152-664) with 31 home runs and 101 RBI in 204 career games with the White Sox (2006-09)

The White Sox have traded Chris Getz and Josh Fields to the Kansas City Royals for Mark Teahen, according to published reports.

Teahen, 28, is an everyday player who has played six positions in his career. He hit .271 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs in 144 games last season while playing third base and right field.

It is uncertain where Sox manager Ozzie Guillen would start his new player. Teahen could replace free agent Jermaine Dye in right field, or he could play third base, with Gordon Beckham moving to shortstop and Alexei Ramirez returning to second base.

In five seasons with the Royals, Teahen has been consistently decent. He has averaged .269 with 14 home runs, 70 RBIs and 10 stolen bases a season.

The trade would mark a tough break for Getz, 26, who shined at times during his rookie season on the South Side. He hit .261 with two home runs, 31 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 107 games as the Sox's starting second baseman.

Fields, who will turn 27 next month, had run his course with the Sox. He hit .222 with seven home runs and 30 RBIs in 79 games in 2009, but Beckham replaced him at third base halfway through the season and gave Fields nowhere to play except Triple-A Charlotte.

The New York Daily News first reported the deal. The Sox have yet to confirm.

-Tom Musick

The White Sox signed veteran Mark Kotsay to a one-year, $1.5 million contract for next season, the team announced Thursday.

Kotsay, 33, hit .292 with three home runs and 18 RBIs in 40 games after the Sox acquired him from the Boston Red Sox for outfielder Brian Anderson. Kotsay played first base and outfield off of the bench and provided another veteran presence in the clubhouse, and he quickly became one of Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's favorite players on the team.

In 13 seasons, Kotsay is a career .281 hitter with 113 home runs and 632 RBIs. He has a .342 (26-for-76) career average as a pinch hitter, which ranks fourth among active players with at least 50 pinch-hit at-bats.

-Tom Musick

Cubs starting pitcher Ted Lilly underwent surgery on his left shoulder this week, the team announced Wednesday.

Lilly, who will turn 34 in January, could return to the starting rotation sometime within the month of April, the team said. Lilly flew to Los Angeles for the surgery, where Dr. Lewis Yocum found no major damage to the pitcher's shoulder during a procedure to wash out and clean up the area.

The Cubs said Lilly immediately would begin an aggressive rehabilitation program to increase his range of motion and strength in his pitching arm. The team will establish a timeline for Lilly to start his throwing program after Jan. 1, when Lilly will be re-evaluated by doctors.

Lilly started the 2009 season as the Cubs' best starting pitcher and was the team's lone representative at the All-Star Game in St. Louis. But he struggled badly in the second half, with knee and shoulder injuries adding to his problems.

Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said he was happy that Lilly's surgery was successful.

“At the end of last week, Ted decided that undergoing a surgical procedure was the course of action he wanted to pursue, a decision the club supported," Hendry said in a news release. "We’re glad the surgery did not reveal any major damage to Ted’s shoulder and look forward to his return to our rotation.”

Lilly finished last season with a 12-9 record and a 3.10 ERA in 27 starts. He is 44-26 in three seasons with the Cubs and will enter the final year of his contract in 2010.

-Tom Musick

The Cubs new owners wasted no time explaining their goals Friday afternoon.

On a day when wet weather at Wrigley Field would have forced a rainout, Tom Ricketts and his family hosted what amounted to a love-in. The Rickettses introduced themselves to the Chicago media three days after completing a financial closing to buy a 95 percent controlling interest in the Cubs and Wrigley Field.

"Everybody on this stage shares a last name, but we also share something more than that," said Tom Ricketts, who stood near his brothers, Pete and Todd, and his sister, Laura. "We are Cubs fans with deep Chicago roots, and all of us love the team, we love the stadium, and we love Chicago."

Tom Ricketts said the family's goal was to bring a World Series title to Cubs fans such as themselves. He expressed confidence in Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and manager Lou Piniella, and he said the family planned short- and long-term improvements to Wrigley.

Ricketts thanked Cubs fans for their support during his family's nearly three-year quest to buy the team. The deal was valued at $845 million and included a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet.

"For those fans, we have three messages," Ricketts said. "No. 1 is we're going to win the World Series. ... We're going to invest in the best personnel and we're going to hold them to the highest standards of accountability."

Secondly, Ricketts said, the family would do everything it could to improve the Wrigley Field experience for today's fans and the next generation of fans. Ricketts' third message was that his family loved the city of Chicago and would be good neighbors with Wrigleyville residents.

For 2010, Ricketts said he expected "slight increases" to the team's payroll and to ticket prices. He did not specify how much "slight" might entail, although he said neither he nor anyone on the team's board of directors had discussed permanent seat licenses.

Ricketts did not say whether the team would try to trade embattled outfielder Milton Bradley or be willing to pay the $21 million remaining on his salary. He promised to be a hands-off owner in player personnel decisions and let Hendry and his staff do their jobs.

For more about the new Cubs owners, check out Saturday's Northwest Herald.

-Tom Musick