Tyler Kepner of The New York Times reports that the Angels and Hideki Matsui agreed to a one year contract today, pending a physical. The deal is said to be about $6.5 million dollars.

Assuming this goes through, we wish Mr. Matsui well. He's been a great Yankee - well worth the respective contracts he's received. A smart player and idle citizen, he's done pretty much everything we've asked for. Happy trails.

ESPN's Jayson Stark reports, according to a source, that the Red Sox and John Lackey have come to a deal on a 5 year agreement worth a little bit more than the $82.5 million dollar deal that the Yankees signed with A.J. Burnett last offseason. Jon Heyman heard that it's about $85 million.

Joel Sherman of the Post says that the Yankees weren't that interested due to concerns over his health and what it would do to their budget.

ESPN's Jayson Stark reports that a three team deal that would send Roy Halladay to the Phillies and Cliff Lee to the Mariners is "close," though it isn't done yet. Those are the only stars involved with the only players being prospects.

Joel Sherman of the Post says that the Yankees reached out to the Phillies regarding Lee, but his price was around what it was at the trade deadline, so they were not interested.

According to a source, Hideki Matsui and the Angels are getting close on a one year deal worth around $6.5 million, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark. The Yankees have maintained interest in the World Series MVP, but Johnny Damon appears to be the priority right now.

Via Alex Belth.

Johnny Damon has said that the Yankees have not made him an offer yet or really had any talks even. But, ESPN's Buster Olney says that's not accurate. He says the two sides have talked and Damon has indicated that he does not want a pay cut from the $13 million he made last season. The deal is pending the results of a physical, which Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse reported that Lackey would be taking.

Chien-Ming Wang: ESPN's Buster Olney reports that Chien-Ming Wang may not sign for months. This is coming from his agent, Alan Nero. 6 teams have been in touch with Nero about his availability. Halladay is reportedly negotiating with the Phillies to add 3 years to his contract along with a potential vesting option for 1-2 more seasons.

Mike Cameron: Ken Rosenthal says that the Red Sox and Mike Cameron are involved in "serious talks" on a two year contract. Via Ben Kabak.

Mark Feinsand of the Daily News reports that Brian Cashman is considering free agent pitchers Justin Duchscherer and Ben Sheets, which we already knew.

Sheets may be too rich for the Yankees. Feinsand says he's looking for an $11-$12 million dollar deal, which probably doesn't fit within the Yankees budget. So, Duchscherer might be a more affordable option, assuming the market doesn't drive Sheets down.

Bill Madden at the Daily News reports that before the Yankees made Chien-Ming Wang a free agent they offered him a split contract: a minor league deal that would be guaranteed to turn into a major league deal once he was healthy. Alan Nero, who represents Wang, wanted the deal to have guaranteed money in it, but the Yankees would not agree to that and so, off goes Wang.

As a bonus, Sam Borden has a nice Wang appreciation piece where he shares a story from spring training 2005 when a rookie Wang was given extra running and given the opportunity to pick any player to run with him... and he picked Randy Johnson.

Via Zach Links.

While we've heard reports that Johnny Damon and the Yankees may be far away, Johnny Damon told George A. King III at the Post that the team has yet to make an offer.

Matt Capps: Marc Carig says the Yankees don't have former Pirates closer Matt Capps "on their radar." Capps was just non-tendered by the club.

Brian Giles: Buster Olney heard that the Yankees are one of the teams interested in giving Brian Giles a shot in 2010. It remains unclear whether he'll get a minor or major league deal.

Via Luke Adams.