Sox Retain Key Players for 2007

Good news for White Sox fans. The Sox have retained the options on three of their top players who were part of the 2005 World Series championship team: pitcher Mark Buerhle, second baseman Tadahito Iguchi and outfielder Jermaine Dye. They also bought out Dustin Hermanson's contract, who pitched in only six games this season due to injury

Buerhle came off a subpar season with a record of 12-13. He'll be earning $9.5 million next season, but there's some speculation that he could be traded this off-season.

Dye is expected to earn $6.75 million next season, or $7 million if he is in the top 10 in the MVP voting. That seems to be a sure deal as Dye hit a career-high 44 home runs, 120 RBIs and a .312 batting average. For that price, Dye was a steal. The trick will be to keep him beyond 2007 when his contract expires.