Hiroki Kuroda free agency: Yankees make $15-16 million offer

Free agent starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda is unlikely to sign elsewhere, but he might very well retire rather than return to Major League Baseball. In order to keep that from happening, the Yankees, the club Kuroda spent the last two seasons with, have increased their offer to the free agent right-hander from the one-year qualifying offer to something believed to be in the $15-16 million range, according to ESPN New York's Andrew Marchand.

The Yankees, who missed the playoffs in 2013 for the first time since 2008, could use Kuroda back in the rotation, and would love to pay him a significant sum for one year rather than invest in a lesser, younger arm who will require more of a long-term commitment, such as the recently departed Phil Hughes, who just signed a three-year, $24 million deal with the Twins. If they are able to retain Kuroda with this latest offer, a slight increase in pay from the qualifying offer that doesn't have the same immediate deadline for acceptance, then the 2014 rotation will start with CC Sabathia, Kuroda, and Ivan Nova, with the back-end spots either filled out internally -- with, say Michael Pineda, acquired before 2012, finally making a start in a Yankees uniform -- or through a combination of acquisitions and the former.

Marchand suggests the Yankees want to keep an eye on Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, who could be available through the posting system once MLB and Japan's NPB finish negotiations on the latest iteration. Should Kuroda head in the opposite direction back to Japan, the need for Tanaka will be that much greater. New York's 2012 rotation posted a 4.08 ERA -- league-average was 4.15 -- and allowed opponents to hit a slightly better-than-average line against them, even with park and league effects taken into account. There is definite room for improvement, as the pitching was and is solid, but the lineup has so many questions that solid just won't cut it.