Options Aplenty: Lee, Webb Stay Put, Dye Bought Out by White Sox

The champagne is barely dry in the Yankees clubhouse, but the business of 2010 is already well under way. Three trades are in the books, a number of players have already filed for free agency and Bobby Abreu has a new deal with the Angels.

In that vein, three clubs made decisions on contract options Friday as they held on to star players for next year. The Phillies and Diamondbacks both picked up the options they held on ace pitchers Cliff Lee and Brandon Webb, respectively, while the White Sox bought out right fielder Jermaine Dye.

Chicago's World Series MVP in 2005, Dye, who will turn 36 in January, was due to make $12 million in 2010. He'll instead receive $950,000 from the White Sox and hit the open market.

Free agency was not kind to aging corner outfielders last winter (just ask Abreu), and there is a virtual consensus that Dye can not play even an average right field anymore, but his time in Chicago was remarkably successful all the same.

He shed the durability issues that plagued him in Oakland during the first half of the decade, and was, at times (particularly in 2006 and 2008), an imposing force in Ozzie Guillen's lineup. He almost certainly will not equal on the open market in terms of annual salary what he would have made had the White Sox picked up his option, but he shouldn't have trouble finding work.

The Phillies haven't made an official announcement, but MLB.com's Todd Zolecki is reporting that they've picked up Lee's $8 million option for next season, and really there are no surprises there. Lee, who came to Philadelphia in a July deal with the Indians, was a dominant force in the postseason, going 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts, including both of the Phillies' wins in the World Series.

Lee can become a free agent after 2010, but Phils general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. is going to try to convince him to sign a long-term extension to keep him in the City of Brotherly Love before then, so think of the option as a way station on the way to the team's ultimate goal.

As for Webb, the 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner was limited to a lone start this season because of ominous shoulder problems, for which he eventually had surgery. Given that Webb's option for 2010 costs $8.5 million -- a sizable chunk of mid-market Arizona's payroll, which was $73.5 million on Opening Day this year -- the Diamondbacks must be feeling pretty confident about the progress of his rehab from the procedure on his right shoulder.

"Since Brandon has recovered well from his surgery, we have decided to exercise his option," Arizona GM Josh Byrnes said in a statement. "His accomplishments for our organization have been significant. We look forward to him returning to the mound."