The Associated Press

The New York Yankees lost one starter Thursday, but are on the verge of acquiring another.

Andy Pettitte, who won four World Series titles and six American League pennants as a Yankee, followed his heart back home to Houston, making a "gut-wrenching" decision to leave New York and accept a $31.5 million, three-year contract with the Astros.

To fill Pettitte's void, the Yankees turned their attention to Los Angeles' Kevin Brown.

The Yankees and Dodgers agreed to the outline of a trade that would send Brown to the Yankees for right-hander Jeff Weaver, two minor leaguers and $3 million, two baseball officials said on condition of anonymity.

Brown, who turns 39 in March, has the right to block a trade and has not yet been asked about it, agent Scott Boras said. All players must pass physicals, and the Yankees want to review Brown's contract before signing off on the swap, the officials said.

Brown has two season remaining at $15 million annually on a seven-year, $105 million deal. The right-hander, 14-9 with a 2.39 ERA last season, has pushed for a trade closer to his home in Macon, Ga.

"Obviously this is something Kevin has to look into and see," Boras said. "He told the Dodgers if there is a deal that comes up, he would approve something if that helped them in their flexibility.

"He told them if he was going to the leave LA, it was going to have to be with an East Coast team, something close to his family."

Family also was a driving force behind Pettitte's signing.

"It's obvious to a lot of us from the start that he wanted to go home," Yankees owner George Steinbrenner said.

"He wanted to go home to Houston. And I admire him for wanting to be with his family. He couldn't do that in New York," Steinbrenner said. "He was a great competitor for me."

Pettitte, who resides in Deer Park, Texas, in the offseason, was 21-8 last season with a 4.02 ERA, improving his career record to 149-78. He forms a powerful front end of a Houston rotation that already included Roy Oswalt and Wade Miller. If the Astros make it to the postseason, Houston's pitching would be tough to handle.

"All I've known in New York was winning," Pettitte said. "I wouldn't have come here if I wouldn't have felt I had a chance to win."

Sounding wistful at times, the 31-year-old left-hander said the Yankees' failure to pursue him aggressively allowed him to turn his attention to Houston, which wound up signing him for $7.5 million less than New York offered.

"When I left there after (World Series) Game 6, I never really envisioned myself in a different uniform," Pettitte said. "I thought that they would try to make a serious push to sign me then."

New York's initial proposal, made just before Pettitte could start negotiations for all teams last month, was for $30 million over three years, including some deferrals. The Yankees didn't make another offer until late Wednesday.

Randy Hendricks, Pettitte's agent, told the Yankees during the day that Pettitte was on the verge of going to Houston and suggested that if New York wanted to catch his attention, the Yankees should offer a $52 million, four-year contract. Even with that, Hendricks couldn't guarantee Pettitte would accept.

"At that level, we weren't comfortable," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said.

New York countered with a $26 million, two-year offer with a third season at $13 million that would become guaranteed if Pettitte wasn't on the disabled list for much of 2005.

By then it was too late.

"Over the last two weeks I felt my heart was really tugging me to come back here," Pettitte said of Houston.

Pettitte would like to see another Yankee make a move to the Astros - Roger Clemens, who retired after New York's World Series loss to Florida in October.

Clemens, who has 310 career victories, lives in Houston. The 41-year-old right-hander didn't say whether he would consider joining the Astros.

"I left him this morning. He's still working out with me. We'll see what happens," Pettitte said. "I know the media's already hit him up on that, and if I feel there's a chance, I'll hit him up on it, too."