LAS VEGAS -- CC Sabathia will be a New York Yankee.
The Yankees are "very close" to a preliminary agreement with Sabathia on Wednesday morning, following an in-person meeting between GM Brian Cashman and Sabathia in California, a baseball source with knowledge of the deal told ESPN.com.
While a deal is not done, the source said there are "zero major road blocks" that would prevent the Yankees from reaching agreement with 28-year-old left-hander. Not all terms of the deal are agreed to yet, the source indicated. Sabathia also would need to take a physical.
In order to get the deal completed, ESPN the Magazine's Buster Olney reports that the Yankees added a seventh year to their original six-year, $140 million offer, bringing the total package to seven years and $160 million -- by far the biggest contract for any pitcher in history.
The New York Post first reported Wednesday on its Web site that Sabathia, the prize of this year's free-agent class, had decided to go with the Yankees after fielding offers from a number of teams.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3759182