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SEATTLE -- Robinson Cano is trading pinstripes for the Pacific Northwest. The free agent second baseman and the Seattle Mariners have reached agreement on a deal, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday. ESPN reported earlier Friday that the contract was worth $240 million for 10 years. The person told the AP that the deal was pending a physical that had not yet been scheduled. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement. Music mogul Jay-Z, whose Roc Nation has partnered with CAA Baseball to represent Cano, was in Seattle for talks that began Thursday and stretched into Friday. Agent Brodie Van Wagenen of CAA Baseball and Juan Perez of Roc Nation Sports also were in attendance. Cano had spent his entire career with the New York Yankees and was a five-time All-Star. He played in 160 games last season and hit .314 with 27 homers and 107 RBIs. The Yankees had offered $175 million over seven years. New York went 85-77 last season and missed the playoffs for only the second time in 19 years; Seattle went 71-91 and hasnt been in the playoffs since 2001. "He was a great Yankee. He was a great player. I think everybody tried hard to get the deal done. We just never got close enough obviously. We wish him the best. We hope he has a long, healthy career," Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said Friday. "Were going to keep going. Were still looking at all the same guys that we were looking at a week ago or two ago. Were going to continue to improve. Were not done spending." The Mariners werent saying much of anything. "We are not able to confirm any news regarding Robinson Cano at this time. If and when an agreement is completed and finalized, we will announce," the team said in a statement. The deal would be tied for the fourth-richest contract in baseball history and a striking blow from a franchise thats done little to get noticed for the past decade. Only the two deals signed by Alex Rodriguez -- first with Texas and then the Yankees -- and Joey Vottos contract with Cincinnati were worth more. Albert Pujols also signed a $240 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Cano posted a .899 on-base plus slugging percentage last season and finished fifth in American League most valuable player voting. Hes been one of the most durable players in baseball for the past seven seasons, missing only 14 out of 1,120 games since the start of the 2007 season. Hes a career .309 hitter who has averaged 24 homers and 97 RBIs per season. Cano has hit at least 25 homers and had a slugging percentage above .500 in every season since 2009. Cano could be the anchor for a lineup thats lacked consistency at the plate most of the past decade. Between 2009 and 2012, Seattles offence ranked last in baseball in batting average, and was near the bottom in runs scored and homers. The Mariners showed some pop this past season with 188 home runs -- second-most in baseball -- but 52 of those came from the combo of Kendrys Morales and 41-year-old Raul Ibanez, both free agents. Its the second straight off-season Seattle will have made a massive financial commitment after giving a $175 million, seven-year deal to ace Felix Hernandez last winter. Seattle has plenty of financial room to make significant cash commitments because the only major contracts on the books for 2014 are for Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, and only Michael Saunders and Justin Smoak are entering arbitration. Helping provide room to increase the payroll is the Mariners investment in a new regional sports network that is expected to net Seattle significant revenue in the coming years and its not a surprise the club was able to make such a staggering offer. But finalizing a deal with Cano wont solve all of Seattles problems. Its a start, immediately adding a legitimate slugger to the middle of a lineup that finally showed some pop last season after years of floundering with one of the worst offences in baseball. The Mariners have plenty of other problems to solve, including adding another established starter to their rotation and finding solutions for an outfield filled with questions. The potential acquisition of Cano could mean a move is made with Nick Franklin or Dustin Ackley. Franklin became Seattles starting second baseman for the majority of last season after an early promotion from the minors. He showed flashes at the plate but slumped badly in the later months of the season and his defence was always a concern. Ackley was Seattles second baseman of the future when he was selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2009 draft, but went through his own hitting swoon. Ackley was demoted to the minors to try to find his swing and was moved from second base to playing in the outfield. 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Unfortunately for Toronto, that surge was too much to handle as the Stars scored six straight goals and ended the Marlies season with a 6-2 victory on Tuesday. Toronto had built a 2-0 lead on goals by Frazer McLaren and Peter Holland, but Texas charged back with a wild rally late in the second period to spark its trip to the Calder Cup final. Mike Modano Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3) - Early goal against was on the power play.Death. Taxes. And the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series. St. Louis eyes its second straight World Series appearance and its third in the last four years when it kicks off the best-of-seven NLCS versus the San Francisco Giants on Saturday at Busch Stadium. While the Cardinals are in this round for the fourth straight year and the ninth time since 2000, the Giants are certainly no strangers either and are back in the NLCS for the third time in the last five years. In fact, it will be the fifth straight year that one of these teams will represent the National League in the Fall Classic. The Giants won the 2010 World Series, the Cardinals won it in 2011, the Giants did it again in 2012 and the Cardinals were in the 2013 World Series. San Francisco defeated the Cards in the NLCS in 2012 en route to its title. Since the wild card format came into play in 1995, more NLCS have been played with either the Giants, Cardinals or both (11 times) than not (9 times). St. Louis, which won the NL Central with a 90-72 mark, made quick work of the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, defeating all-world left- hander Clayton Kershaw twice in the series. The Cardinals erupted for eight runs in the seventh inning of Game 1 to pull out a win over Kershaw, before outlasting him in the Game 4 clincher, as Matt Adams three-run homer in the seventh propelled them to a 3-2 win. Kershaw had actually held St. Louis to just one run over six scoreless innings before it unraveled in the seventh. Amazingly, the Cardinals did not have the lead entering the seventh inning in any of the four games. You look at what these guys have been able to do, you take a Matt Adams and see his track record, and even though he didnt throw up huge power numbers this year, he has in the past and can, said St. Louis manager Mike Matheny. Nobody put up big power numbers for the Cardinals this season, as they ranked last in the NL with just 105 home runs. That hasnt been the case this postseason, especially for light-hitting third baseman and leadoff hitter Matt Carpenter, who had just eight home runs in a league-high 709 plate appearances during the regular season, but homered in each of the first three games against the Dodgers. I wouldnt say it was a struggle, but I never really hit a stretch where I felt like I was really hot, Carpenter said. I would rather take it now than during the regular season. This is when it matters. Carpenter, who was 6-for-17 with seven RBI in the NLDS, powered a Cardinals offense that has hit seven home runs in the playoffs. Weve heard a lot about that this season, our lack of home runs, Matheny said tersely. Its nice to see them in big situations like this. Weve got guys that can do it, but were not preaching it. Still, the Cards are led by ace right-hander Adam Wainwright, who will get the call in Game 1. Wainwright had another terrific season, going 20-9 with a 2.38 ERA. Wainwright, though, didnt pitch particularly well in his Game 1 start (6 runs, 11 hits, 6 1/3 innings) versus the Dodgers and his health has been called into question, as he has dealt with arm issues on-and-off throughout the season.dddddddddddd Theres no question Waino has been fighting it, Matheny said. Ive not made that a secret, and neither has he. Its all going to come down to how he feels. The likelihood of him saying he cant go is very slim, but it is a possibility that something might not feel right. No pitcher in baseball has thrown more innings since the start of the 2013 season than Wainwright, who has logged 508 (including the postseason). Hes just been grinding, Matheny said. And when youve been grinding, there are just days where you cant get it right. He was having trouble that Game 1. Hes thrown a lot of innings. Hes had a lot of work. But thats what your ace does. San Francisco, meanwhile, is back in this round for the seventh time after beating the NLs best team, the Washington Nationals, in four games to win its seventh straight postseason series dating back to 2012. Washington had tied Game 4 on a Bryce Harper home run in the seventh inning, but the Giants went ahead to stay on a wild pitch in their half of the frame in the 3-2 win. They were determined not to get back on a plane and go to Washington, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said of his team. We couldnt quite put the game away but we kept fighting and when they tied the game we put pressure right back on them. The Giants, of course, also beat Pittsburgh in the one-game wild card showdown last week, marking their seventh straight win-or-go-home victory under Bochy. Like St. Louis, San Francisco doesnt rely on the long ball and managed to leave the yard just once in the NLDS. The Giants still struggle to score runs and managed just nine in the four-game set with the Nationals. However, San Francisco did score eight in its wild card win over the Pirates. But the offense has been a problem for the Giants, particularly down the stretch, as they mustered a mere 44 runs over the final 15 games of the season. Thats our way sometimes, Bochy said. We scratch and paw for runs. Regardless, the Giants are in this position because of their starting staff, namely left-hander Madison Bumgarner, who gets the call on Saturday. If there was no Kershaw we may very well be talking about an NL Cy Young Award for Bumgarner, who set career-high marks in wins (18) and strikeouts (219) and pitched to a 2.98 ERA. That has carried over into the postseason, as he tossed a four-hit shutout to beat the Pirates, but then absorbed the lone loss in the NLDS for the Giants, but only allowed two earned runs in seven innings. Bumgarner was also one of the best road pitchers in the league this season, going 11-4 with a 2.22 ERA in 18 starts away from AT&T Park. His shutout win in the wild card game also came as a visitor. The Giants took four of their seven meetings during the season with the Cardinals, outscoring them, 30-20. The teams, though, havent played since July 3. San Francisco has played the Cardinals three other times in the playoffs. St. Louis edged the Giants in a thrilling seven-game series in 1987, but San Francisco has beaten the Cards both in 2002 and 2012. ' ' '