BOSTON — Despite the Red Sox’ heavy interest, it does not appear the team will be able to land outfielder Jermaine Dye from the Chicago White Sox.

According to sources, Dye has told the White Sox that he does not want to go somewhere where he won’t be in the everyday lineup. Dye is a free agent at the end of this season and doesn’t want to diminish his value further by playing irregularly.

The Sox had envisioned Dye as someone who could play right field against lefties, spell Manny Ramirez in left and come off the bench as a late-inning power weapon. But that role wouldn’t suit Dye.

Dye does not have a no-trade clause, but owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Kenny Williams won’t send Dye somewhere against his will, removing Boston as a potential landing spot.

Meanwhile, a former White Sox pitcher, reliever Damaso Marte, has moved onto the Red Sox’ radar. Marte, now with the Pittsburgh Pirates, is being coveted in light of the recent struggles by Sox’ lefty specialist Javier Lopez. Lopez is holding lefty hitters to a .220 average, but his overall effectiveness is down, having allowed five runs in his last 12 innings of work. Marte is limiting opposing lefties to just four hits in 45 at-bats (.089) this season.

The Sox continue to monitor Marte’s teammate, reliever Salomon Torres, though the asking price is, for now, way too high.

Schilling schedule set

Unless he suffers further setbacks, watch for Curt Schilling to return to the Red Sox starting rotation on Aug. 6, the first game of a three-game road set against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Schilling will pitch Saturday at McCoy Stadium and be limited to 45-to-50 pitches. His next start will come Thursday, Aug. 26 in Toledo, and a third — date and location to be determined — will follow.

The Sox believe Schilling will need three rehab outings. He hasn’t pitched at the big-league level since June 16 in Atlanta. He’s spent the last month attempting to build up the strength of his right shoulder.

Donnelly sets sights on return

Red Sox reliever Brendan Donnelly (right forearm) was in the clubhouse yesterday afternoon after his trip to California where he was examined by orthopedist Lewis Yocum. There’s no further damage to the arm and Donnelly will continue his rehab.

“Basically, Yocum confirmed what we already knew,” said Donnelly. “He just made sure nothing more severe was going on, so that’s absolutely relieving to know that I will be able to come back and help this team at some point.”

Donnelly has been on the DL for the last month and suffered a setback during his rehab, hence the trip to the West Coast.

“Maybe I was just trying to do a little too much too soon,” he said. “That’s my fault because I want to get back out there as soon as possible. I should have taken it a little bit slower and been more sure about things. That’s what I’m going to do now; we’re going to make absolute sure everything is fine before I move forward with any kind of intense activity.”

The veteran right-hander also said it may take two weeks or a month before he returns, but he knows he’ll be back this season. He made a joke of it, saying he’ll wait for fellow reliever Mike Timlin to make his 1,000th appearance before he’s activated. Timlin currently stands at 14th all-time with 985 appearances.

Donnelly is 2-1 with a 3.05 ERA in 27 appearances this season.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said he’s hoping Donnelly will be able to pick up a baseball and begin to throw this “weekend-ish” with less intensity.

Flourishing in a new role

Veteran Mike Timlin has begun to thrive in a long-relief type of role, which is something new for him.

The right-hander, who has been on the disabled twice this season, worked 2 1/3 spotless innings last night, stretching his scoreless string to 13 2/3 innings. He no longer is the eighth-inning setup man in the Sox’ bullpen, and Francona is stretching him out, bringing him in earlier than in the past.

Last night marked the fourth time in his last six outings that Timlin has thrown at least two innings. Since being tagged for three runs on three hits in Seattle on June 25, Timlin has surrendered only four hits and no runs since, including a scoreless two-thirds of an inning in Seattle on June 26.

“I started to put it together in Seattle, I guess,” said Timlin with a shrug. “I’m just pitching to spots and I just go until they tell me to stop.”

jmcdonal@projo.com