11:42pm: Joel Sherman of the New York Post says "most of the dollars will be applied to 2013" for the Yankees. Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News has further details, explaining how "fancy accounting" could actually lead to a luxury tax credit for 2014. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports pegs the Yankees' tab closer to $14MM.
5:44pm: Out of the $42MM owed to Vernon Wells for 2013-14, the Yankees will pay in the range of $12-14MM, tweets Heyman. Earlier this afternoon, Heyman reported that the Yankees and Angels are in agreement on the deal, and "only seemingly small hurdles like commissioner approval remain." Since Wells has been a complete non-factor over the last two seasons, unloading $12MM+ of his contract seems like a big win for the Halos. – Tim Dierkes
3:28pm: Wells has let the Angels know he will accept the trade, tweets Heyman. "Always tough to say goodbye, but I'm excited," Wells told reporters, including MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez, as he was pulling out of the Angels' parking lot.
2:45pm: The Angels and Yankees are discussing a trade involving Vernon Wells and a deal could be done today, sources tell Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com categorized the talks as serious (on Twitter). Passan however tweeted one important caveat: Wells has a no-trade clause and it is uncertain whether he would waive it for the Yankees. A source tells ESPN.com's Buster Olney there is a "strong chance" the deal happens as Wells is said by a teammate to be excited about the possibility of joining the Yankees (via Twitter).
Wells is owed $42MM over the next two years and Passan tweeted the Yankees will receive some money in the deal, but the amount is not nearly as significant as one might think. The New York Post's Joel Sherman suspects the Angels will need to eat $34MM and that, along with the no-trade clause, will require more time before a trade can be finalized (Twitter links).
Last month, it was reported the Yankees were not expected to deal for Wells. But with Curtis Granderson, Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter expected to start the season on the disabled list, their need for Wells' bat has increased with the 34-year-old likely becoming the everyday left fielder.
Charlie Wilmoth and Tim Dierkes contributed to this post.
