LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The bigger headlines will belong to new slugger Giancarlo Stanton, and deservedly so, but the architect of this refreshed Yankees roster has also been rewarded as the Winter Meetings began Monday.
After overseeing a 91-win campaign in which the Yankees finished within one victory of the World Series, general manager Brian Cashman has agreed to a five-year extension that will reportedly be worth $25 million.
The Yankees have not made an official announcement, but managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner confirmed that an agreement is in place with Cashman, who has served as the team's GM since February 1998 and is currently the longest-tenured GM in the sport.

"Without getting into specifics, yes, Cashman is going to stay," Steinbrenner said. "I want him to stay, and he's going to stay."
Though Cashman's contract expired on Oct. 31, Steinbrenner has said that a new agreement was in the process of being negotiated.
The reported figures represent a raise from Cashman's most recent contract, which is believed to have been worth approximately $9 million over three years. His new deal puts Cashman near the top tier of baseball executives, just below the Dodgers' Andrew Friedman and the Cubs' Theo Epstein, among few others.
"I'm glad that I'm staying," Cashman said. "We haven't dotted i's and crossed t's. I haven't signed anything yet, but we have pre-agreed to get something done -- and the numbers aren't necessarily accurate, but I don't really care about any of that stuff either."

When the team decided to part with manager Joe Girardi following the American League Championship Series, Cashman told Steinbrenner that he was comfortable prioritizing the pursuit of a new manager and filling out the coaching staff, rather than his own contract situation.
The Yanks completed that search last week, introducing Aaron Boone as the 33rd manager in franchise history on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have won four World Series championships and six AL pennants under Cashman's tenure.
"I wasn't intending to go anywhere, never had an interest in going anywhere," Cashman said. "So I had told Hal straight up, like, 'Listen, let's just try to work through this and get it behind us, because I have no intent of jumping ship.'"