As expected, the Cubs announced Friday that they had agreed to a two-year contract extension with relief pitcher John Grabow.

Grabow, 31, joined the Cubs before last season's trade deadline in a deal that sent pitchers Kevin Hart and Jose Ascanio and another prospect to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The left-handed Grabow combined to go 3-0 with a 3.36 ERA in 75 relief appearances, which marked a career high.

The Cubs struggled to find a reliable left-handed pitcher in the bullpen last season after pitchers such as Neal Cotts and Jason Waddell failed to stick. Grabow started his Cubs career with 16 consecutive scoreless appearances, and he finished with a 3.24 ERA in 30 games on the North Side.

Grabow has pitched at least 63 innings in each of the past six seasons, and he twice has led the National League in the percentage of inherited runners stranded. He is 20-15 with a 4.03 ERA in seven seasons in the majors.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

-Tom Musick

The Cubs traded relief pitcher Aaron Heilman to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday afternoon for a pair of prospects.

Heilman, 31, went 4-4 with a 4.11 ERA and one save in 70 games with the Cubs in 2009. The club acquired him last spring from the Seattle Mariners for infielder Ronny Cedeno and pitcher Garrett Olson.

In return for Heilman, the Cubs acquired 24-year-old pitcher Scott Maine and 23-year-old first baseman Ryne White, who both were minor-league players in Arizona's farm system.

Maine went 4-5 with a 2.90 ERA and seven saves in 48 relief appearances between Double-A Mobile and Triple-A Reno last season. The left-handed pitcher and former sixth-round draft pick allowed only two home runs in 62 innings pitched.

Meanwhile, the trade might mark a dream come true for White, a Chicago native who attended St. Rita of Cascia High School. White hit .266 with six home runs and 52 RBIs in 116 games for Single-A Visalia last season. The Diamondbacks selected White, who attended Purdue, in the fourth round of the 2008 draft.

-Tom Musick

Even if you're not a Cubs fan, you have to appreciate that the team released its 2010 spring training schedule on a cold, dreary day in the middle of November.

The Cubs' 35-game spring training schedule will start March 4 in Mesa, Ariz. The schedule includes 15 home games at HoHoKam Park in Mesa, 18 road games in Arizona, and two games in Las Vegas against the White Sox.

Individual game tickets for the Cubs' spring training games in Messa will go on sale at 10 a.m. CST at the team's official site, www.cubs.com, or by calling (800) 905-3315. Fans who have questions about the team's spring training schedule may e-mail info2010@mesahohokams.com, visit www.cubs.com, or call the HoHoKam Park information line at (480) 644-4451.

The spring training schedule for the Cubs is listed below.

Thursday, March 4: Oakland Athletics, in Mesa
Friday, March 5: Arizona Diamondbacks, in Mesa
Saturday, March 6: Chicago White Sox, in Mesa
Sunday, March 7: Los Angeles Dodgers (split squad), in Mesa
Sunday, March 7: Chicago White Sox (split squad), in Glendale
Monday, March 8: Oakland Athletics, in Phoenix
Tuesday, March 9: Milwaukee Brewers, in Mesa
Wednesday, March 10: San Francisco Giants, in Mesa
Thursday, March 11: San Diego Padres, in Peoria (Ariz.)
Friday, March 12: Milwaukee Brewers (ss), in Maryvale
Friday, March 12: Chicago White Sox (ss), in Las Vegas
Saturday, March 13: Cincinnati Reds (ss), in Mesa
Saturday, March 13: Chicago White Sox (ss), in Las Vegas
Sunday, March 14: Los Angeles Angels, in Tempe
Monday, March 15: Colorado Rockies, in Tucson
Tuesday, March 16: Texas Rangers, in Mesa
Wednesday, March 17: Off day
Thursday, March 18: Los Angeles Dodgers, in Glendale
Friday, March 19: Chicago White Sox, in Glendale
Saturday, March 20: Kansas City Royals (ss), in Mesa
Saturday, March 20: Oakland Athletics (ss), in Phoenix
Sunday, March 21: Cincinnati Reds, in Goodyear
Monday, March 22: Cleveland Indians, in Mesa
Tuesday, March 23: Kansas City Royals, in Surprise
Wednesday, March 24: Texas Rangers, in Surprise
Thursday, March 25: Arizona Diamondbacks, in Tucson
Friday, March 26: Oakland Athletics, in Mesa
Saturday, March 27: San Diego Padres, in Mesa
Sunday, March 28: Seattle Mariners, in Peoria
Monday, March 29: Cincinnati Reds, in Mesa
Tuesday, March 30: San Francisco Giants, in Scottsdale
Wednesday, March 31: Los Angeles Angels (ss), in Mesa
Wednesday, March 31: Milwaukee Brewers (ss), in Maryvale
Thursday, April 1: Colorado Rockies, in Mesa
Friday, April 2: Arizona Diamondbacks, in Phoenix, Chase Field
Saturday, April 3: Arizona Diamondbacks, in Phoenix, Chase Field

-Tom Musick

One of Ozzie Guillen's former teammates has joined the coaching staff of a division rival.

The Indians hired former White Sox reliever Scott Radinsky on Tuesday to be the team's bullpen coach. Radinsky will join the coaching staff of Manny Acta, who recently was hired to replace Eric Wedge as the Indians manager after Wedge was fired.

White Sox fans might remember Radinsky as a mostly reliable left-handed pitcher out of the bullpen. He went 24-16 with a 3.62 ERA on the South Side from 1990 to 1995 before he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent. Radinsky battled arm injuries throughout his career and retired after appearing in only two games with Cleveland in 2001.

Radinsky will have his work cut out for him as Cleveland's bullpen coach. The Indians bullpen compiled a 4.66 ERA last season, and former Cubs closer Kerry Wood's six blown saves in 2009 tied for fourth-worst in the American League.

-Tom Musick

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)