It looks like Randy Johnson is on his way back to Arizona:

The Yankees reached a tentative agreement with Arizona on Thursday to trade Johnson to Arizona for reliever Luis Vizcaino and three minor leaguers, a move that allows the Big Unit's agents to get him a contract extension.

Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes confirmed what he called "an agreement in principle" but did not identify the players that would go to the Yankees.

New York would receive Vizcaino and minor league right-handers Ross Ohlendorf and Steven Jackson, and shortstop Alberto Gonzalez, a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The Yankees also would pay $2 million of Johnson's $16 million salary this year.

Teams are granted a 72-hour window by the commissioner's office to close tentative deals, and the Yankees and Diamondbacks must finalize the trade by 5 p.m. ET Sunday.

On last night's podcast, I looked at the three starters the Yankees might get, and rated Ohlendorf number two. I thought the Yankees would hold out for Owings, but Ohlendorf is still pretty good. Owings had moved up so fast through the Arizona system, I thought it was more likely he could move into the Yankees rotation right away.

I'm not overly excited about Luis Vizcaino. He fills a need, but he's not the centerpiece of the deal. Jackson's not a bad prospect. His home runs and walks allowed are very good, but his strikeouts are just okay. Still that makes two more starting prospects in the Yankees system. They're pretty flush with young arms right now.

The DBacks were pretty deep at shortstop, and so they could afford to send Gonzalez to the Yankees. He's posted pretty good OBA his last two seasons. The Yankees could certainly use a better defensive shortstop as Jeter ages.

For all this, the Diamondbacks get a questionable Randy Johnson.

Newsday reported Thursday that Johnson had agreed in principle through "back-channel conversations" to a $10 million contract extension for 2008.

"We're going to start talking tomorrow," said Alan Nero, who represents Johnson along with Barry Meister. "We have a conference call set up."

I like the deal for the Yankees. If Johnson is healthy, he'll improve the DBacks rotation. If Ownings can continue to advance quickly, a Webb-Johnson-Owings front of the rotation may not be that far away. Both teams should be happy with this deal.