Source: Sabathia, Yanks Agree to Terms on Big Deal

LAS VEGAS - The deal is a whopper.

Free-agent left-hander CC Sabathia has reached preliminary agreement on terms with the Yankees on a seven-year contract worth approximately $161 million, according to a major-league source.

The contract is the largest ever awarded to a starting pitcher and the fourth-largest in major-league history, behind Alex Rodriguez's two free-agent contracts and Manny Ramirez's original deal with the Red Sox.

Sabathia, 28, agreed to the deal late Tuesday night after Yankees general manager Brian Cashman flew to San Francisco to meet with him, his agents, and his wife, Amber.

The deal will be officially completed after Sabathia passes a physical and the remaining language issues are resolved.

Sabathia is expected to receive an opt-out clause after three years, which was a prerequisite for him to sign with any team, not just the Yankees, according to a source.

Such a clause would give Sabathia the chance for another monster payday in free agency at age 31 — and provides him with an escape if he finds the New York experience unappealing.

It was the third meeting in three days between Sabathia and the Yankees. The first two discussions occurred in Las Vegas at the winter meetings. Sabathia is a native of Vallejo, Ca., in the Bay Area.

The Yankees' first offer to Sabathia was for six years, $140 million. They added the seventh year to further distance themselves from the Brewers and other clubs interested in Sabathia.

The Brewers made the only other known offer to Sabathia — five years, $100 million with deferrals. But the Giants, Angels and Red Sox all showed varying degrees of interest in signing the pitcher.

News of an agreement between Sabathia and the Yankees was first reported by the New York Post.

This article originally published on FOXSports.com.  Click here to read live updates all day Wednesday from Las Vegas.

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