Cashman anticipates new deal by Halloween

Brian Cashman anticipates that talks for his new contract will go relatively smoothly, with a deal in place by the end of the month. "I don't expect any issues, they [the Yankees] don't expect any issues," Cashman said Monday by phone.

The general manager's contract expires Oct. 31, and when asked if he thinks something will be done by Halloween, he said, "I would expect that."

He added, "Between now and Oct. 31, we'll work though everything we need to work though, I'm sure."

Cashman, at the end of a three-year, $6-million deal, will oversee the organization's pro scouting meetings this week at the Stadium. Speculation about when he might fly to Tampa, Fla., to complete a deal with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner has been rampant, but Cashman said such a trip might not occur.

"Hal and I can talk over the phone," he said, though he didn't discount the possibility of a trip. "I don't need to be on a flight. It's nothing that has to be done in person. Alexander Graham Bell allowed that not to be a mandatory thing."

When Cashman's deal is done, the first priority will be retaining CC Sabathia. He has an opt-out clause, which the organization expects him to exercise, in the seven-year, $161-million deal he signed before the 2009 season.

One of Sabathia's agents, Brian Peters, told ESPN over the weekend that "we will exhaust all of our efforts to reach a new agreement" with the team. "CC has been clear about how he feels about New York and the Yankees," he said.

Cashman didn't make too much of the comments. "I know he loves it here, but at the same time, there's a business component to it," he said. "I don't take anything from it [the comments] other than he does love it here."