Carl Crawford

Carl: The Boston Red Sox struck again at the winter meetings, reaching agreement with star outfielder Carl Crawford on a $142 million, seven-year contract Wednesday night.

A person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press the agreement was subject to Crawford passing a physical. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet finalized.

Crawford's free-agent deal was first reported by The Boston Globe on its website.

The Red Sox got Crawford two days after announcing they had acquired slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in a trade with San Diego.

Boston's big deals follow a season in which it failed to make the playoffs. The Red Sox moves will certainly increase pressure on their perennial rivals, the Yankees, to make a splash – that could mean Cliff Lee.

"It's not going to change the way we allocate our money," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, shortly after midnight.

Yet Crawford's deal had to sting him. On Tuesday night, Cashman had dinner with the longtime Tampa Bay star. The Los Angeles Angels also pursued Crawford.

Earlier Wednesday, New York made its first offer to Lee, a six-year proposal worth nearly $140 million. It was easy to tell how eager the Yankees are to sign the prize pitcher.

"Hannibal Lecter in a straitjacket right now, waiting on this Cliff Lee thing," Cashman said. and this news from huffingtonpost.com