New York Yankees make offer to Hiroki Kuroda, Rafael Soriano, Nick Swisher – MLB Update
Hiroki Kuroda has been made a qualifying offer by the New York Yankees, reports a leading sports website. Yankees’ starting pitcher Kuroda will be extremely pleased with the offer but he must accept the offer before it expires on November 9.
He was quite outstanding his first season in the Bronx. He showed great composure in pressure games. Using his fastballs and sliders extremely effectively, Kuroda struck-out 167 batters with a sensational 1.17 WHIP.
He finished the season with an impressive 16-11 record 3.32. Considering his efforts in his very season with the Yankees, General Manager Brian Cashman would certainly like to retain him. Kuroda made the most of available opportunities with the Los Angeles
Dodgers in the pitching friendly conditions. However, he was equally effective in hitting friendly conditions at Yankee Stadium. It will be in interesting to see if Kuroda can continue the good work in the next season to cement his place on Yankees’ big league
roster.
Nick Swisher and Rafael Soriano are the other two players who have been offered a qualifying contract. Relief pitcher Rafael Soriano, who displayed some top quality throwing skills last season, is expected to make $1.48 million in the final year of his contract.
However, his agent Scott Boras in convinced that he can find a better and long term deal for his client.
Soriano had a decent performance as he helped the Yankees win the American League East Division title. He came in a replacement for the injured Mariano Rivera and grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Manager Joe Girardi and Cashman were impressed with
what they saw from Soriano throughout the season. However, it is unclear if the Yankees are prepared to offer him a more lucrative contract.
Swisher is likely to reject the $13.3 million contract the Yankees have offered him for the next season. Playing the right field, Swisher hit .272 with 24 home-runs and .364 OBP. However, he was unable to live up to the expectations in the playoffs. He will
also be looking for a longer and more lucrative contract with some other Major League Baseball team.
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