Yankees Optimistic About Hiroki Kuroda’s Return

Yankees GM Brian Cashman is optimistic that starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda wants to play in 2014, Andy McCullough of the Star-Ledger reports. "He wants to come back," Cashman says. "He’s going to pitch here, in Japan, or somewhere else, I don’t know yet. But all indications are, he is definitely interested in coming back to the Yankees. But there’s no guarantee that comes with that."

McCullough writes that the Yankees seem to have offered Kuroda a one-year deal with a raise over his $15MM 2013 salary. Earlier this week, a report indicated that the Yankees had offered around $15MM-$16MM for 2014. That offer has reportedly been on the table for some time. Kuroda, who will be 39 in February, posted a 3.31 ERA with 6.7 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 2013.