It sounds like the White Sox will truly entertain a contract extension for right fielder Jermaine Dye, but only if they get him at a discount price once again. They’ve paid just $16.75MM for Dye to hit .280/.344/.542 for them over 381 games so far since 2005. Among right fielders, only Vladimir Guerrero has slugged higher from 2005 to present.
Dye says "Something can probably get done." Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times believes Dye wants three years, but the White Sox are hesistant to even do two. I get the impression the Sox want to do one year with a reasonable option for 2009, but might guarantee the second year if the price is right. A decent comparable might be Jim Edmonds’ two-year, $19MM extension. However, Dye wouldn’t get the no-trade protection Edmonds did. And the Edmonds contract might actually serve as a cautionary tale for Kenny Williams.
The White Sox will have some offseason alternatives for right field – Kosuke Fukudome, Bobby Abreu, Milton Bradley, Geoff Jenkins, Trot Nixon, and Shawn Green. They’ll have to weigh those players against Dye. Teams often pass on the in-house option just to get some fresh blood, even if it’s not logical. We’ll have to wait and see what the White Sox decide.
