John Smoltz is leaving Atlanta for the most stunning of destinations.

Smoltz, 41, is on the verge of signing a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Red Sox, according to major-league sources.

The deal also will include $4.5 million in incentives, giving Smoltz the chance to earn a total of $10 million, sources said.

With Smoltz, who is coming off shoulder surgery, the Red Sox would have six veteran starters.

The team's rotation currently includes Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield and Brad Penny.

Smoltz has been with the Braves organization since August 12, 1987, when the team acquired him from the Tigers for pitcher Doyle Alexander. The team entered the offseason planning to reconstruct its rotation and then re-sign Smoltz and free-agent lefthander Tom Glavine if they were still available.

Glavine, unlike Smoltz, is unwilling to play for any team but the Braves.

With Smoltz coming off major surgery, the Braves were not inclined to guarantee him significant dollars.

John Smoltz has pitched his entire major league career with the Atlanta Braves, but he is on the verge of a deal with the Boston Red Sox, according to sources.

Smoltz, 41, has pitched in 708 games for the Braves, winning 210 games and earning 154 saves. He has been been rehabilitating his shoulder since having surgery last season, and there have been reports that the has made excellent progress.

Smoltz's departure from Atlanta would come in a winter in which the Braves have struggled to fill holes in their rotation; Atlanta was unable to land Jake Peavy, after extensive trade talks, and was unable to sign free agent A.J. Burnett.

Boston's proposed deal with Smoltz is for $5.5 million in base salary, and $5 million in incentives.

Assuming the Red Sox close out negotiations with Smoltz, they will go into spring training with six veteran starters -- Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield, Brad Penny and Smoltz. Penny agreed to terms on a one-year, $5 million deal, and will be in Boston Thursday for his physical examination.

But the Red Sox have come to believe in the idea of going into each season overloaded with starting pitching, and operating under the assumption that at some point, injuries will factor in the equation, or that some members of the rotation will need rest.

The signings of Smoltz and Penny also give the Red Sox the flexibility to consider trading one of their young starting pitchers -- most notably Clay Buchholz, whose name has come up in trade talks with the Texas Rangers, for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, as well as with other teams.