"Jermaine Dye ditched the idea of extending his stay with the White Sox in late September, so it was no shock that the paperwork for the breakup continued when the team announced Tuesday it wouldn't offer salary arbitration to Dye, outfielder Scott Podsednik, reliever Octavio Dotel or backup catcher Ramon Castro by the midnight deadline.

This means the Sox won't get any drafts picks as compensation should Dye or Dotel -- both Type A free agents -- sign with another team. Podsednik and Castro didn't fall into that category.

As for Dye, he told the Sun-Times last month that he already had been receiving calls from at least eight major-league teams and wasn't ruling anyone out.

The New York Yankees denied a report that they had interest in Dye, but that was seemingly the Bronx Bombers trying to work under the radar, especially because a source familiar with the talks said the Yankees already had asked for medical reports about Dye.

The Texas Rangers were an early favorite, but they would want Dye to take a majority of his at-bats as the designated hitter. That's a scenario he has said is unappealing.

The Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants also have shown interest."