New York Yankees Nearing Decisions On David Robertson, Hiroki Kuroda

The New York Yankees are still waiting to make a final decision, but it appears likely they will extend the MLB qualifying offer to closer David Robertson, but are uncertain if they will extend one to starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman reports that it appears likely New York Yankees closer David Robertson will get a $15.3-million qualifying offer from the team before he hits free agency, but the team has not made a decision regarding a qualifying offer for starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

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Most MLB teams wouldn’t consider giving a reliever the qualifying offer, which ensures the team draft pick compensation if a player signs elsewhere, even for an excellent reliever such as Robertson, but the Yankees aren’t like most MLB teams, and can not only afford Robertson at the qualifying offer (if he were to accept), but would like to keep him long-term. Robertson took over the closing duties and did well in replacing the retried Mariano Rivera, pitching 64.1 innings with 96 strikeouts and 39 saves. For the Yankees, paying Robertson is likely far easier than trying to replace him this winter.

Robertson could find himself in the history books, as there’s increasing speculation that Robertson could become the first MLB player to accept the qualifying offer; the offer has been around since 2012, and usually the offer hurts the free agent market for players considered among the “second tier” of talent in free agency. The offer particularly hurt Steven Drew (who finished the year with New York after a mid-season trade) and Kendres Morales, both signing for less money than if they had accepted the offer, and then struggled during the season after signing late. Robertson, as a reliever, could find himself in a similar situation.

Kuroda is a completely different situation. The Yankees would like to retain him at the right price, but he will pitch all of 2015 at age 40, and despite good overall numbers last season, began to falter down the stretch. The market for Kuroda is expected to be limited, and this isn’t the first free agency dance the Yankees have performed with Kuroda; he’s been signed by the team to one-year deals after every season since 2012, and made $16 million last season, and he’s been pretty picky about where he pitches. It’s possible another team could offer Kuroda more than the qualifying offer in free agency, but it’s unlikely to happen if he has draft pick compensation, and the Yankees could potentially re-sign him for less than the qualifying offer, but not extending the QO could make him more attractive to other teams.

The New York Yankees are still waiting to make a final decision, but it appears likely they will extend the MLB qualifying offer to closer David Robertson, but are uncertain if they will extend one to starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda.

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