Note -- I thought I posted this yesterday morning, but apparently, it didn't go up...sorry...
Hours before they would have been contractually obligated to release him, the Yankees reached a deal with Hideki Matsui on a 4 year, $52 million contract.
As the Transaction Oracle points out, the Yankees overpaid, but not too badly, and since it is the Yankees, they can afford to overpay a little to keep Matsui around. Given the mess that their outfield situation is, they clearly didn't want to let Matsui go.