Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

The New York Yankees and manager Joe Girardi have reached agreement on a three-year, $9 million contract with incentives that could add another $500,000 for winning the World Series, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.

According to both sources, agreement was reached “right away” between the club and Girardi, with many of the details agreed to at the first meeting between Girardi and general manager Brian Cashman on Tuesday afternoon.

“This was no major negotiation here,” one of the sources said. “The Yankees knew they wanted him back, and he knew he wanted to come back. It was a pretty cut-and-dried thing.”

According to both sources, Girardi’s deal calls for $3 million in salary per year, a figure that puts him among the top five highest-paid managers in the game. Also included is a bonus clause that escalates with each level of achievement, from winning the AL East to winning the World Series, and tops out at $500,000. His previous deal — three years for $7 million — included a similar bonus deal that topped out at $450,000.

“The only managers that are making more than him now are the guys who have been around forever,” one source said. “Guys like [Mike] Scioscia, [Tony] La Russa, [Jim] Leyland. That’s it.”

Girardi’s record in three seasons as Yankee manager is 287-199 (.591), with the 2009 world championship and a trip to the 2010 ALCS, where the Yankees lost in six games to the Texas Rangers, to his credit. Previously, he had won the manager of the year award as a rookie manager of the Florida Marlins, a tenure that ended stormily after a public dispute with ownership.

Earlier this season, rumors abounded that the Chicago Cubs would pursue Girardi to replace the retiring Lou Piniella, a belief that seemed to have some legitimacy since Girardi is a native of the area and played seven seasons in two stints with the Cubs.

But that story died when the Cubs hired Mike Quade as their manager earlier this month, and one of the sources said the Cubs job was never a real option.

“Joe told Cashman back in August that he had no interest in the Cubs job,” the source said. “He had too many good things going in New York to be interested in that.”

– ESPN