New York Yankees Unlikely To Give Hiroki Kuroda Qualifying Offer

The New York Yankees are unlikely to extend a qualifying offer to starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda making him an unrestricted MLB free agent.

More from MLB

After four solid seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda made his way to the New York Yankees where he’s played during the past three seasons.

While the 2014 campaign wasn’t Kuroda’s best as he finished the season with a 3.71 ERA, he’s played well in the Bronx since joining the franchise and has become one of the Yankees most reliable starters.

However with significant salary on the books and Hiroki Kuroda aging (and potentially losing some of his stuff), it seems as if the two parties could be moving on as the New York Yankees are unlikely to offer the pitcher a qualifying offer according to CBS.

"The Yankees appear to be leaning strongly toward extending the $15.3 million qualifying offer to star closer David Robertson, and while they haven’t made the ultimate call on veteran starter Hiroki Kuroda, they don’t seem especially likely to make him the same offer."

While it’s possible the New York Yankees and Hiroki Kuroda could attempt to find middle ground on a much cheaper deal, they simply aren’t going to pay the pitcher upwards of $15 million dollars of service on a one-year deal.

Extending a qualifying offer to Kuroda would also be a bit of a disservice to the pitcher as it would make it difficult for him to sign with another team as the QO forces the signing team to forfeit a high draft pick.

There have been rumors suggesting it’s possible Hiroki Kuroda may retire if he wasn’t given a qualifying offer by the New York Yankees though we’re still likely some time away from finding out if that’s to happen as you’d figure he’d at least test the free agent market.

The New York Yankees are unlikely to extend a qualifying offer to starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda making him an unrestricted MLB free agent.

More from FanSided