The New York Yankees are facing tough decisions on Monday on the contract situation of pitchers David Robertson and Hiroki Kuroda, who played big roles for the team last season.
According to John Heyman of CBS Sports, the Yankees are expected to extend a qualifying offer to Robertson to improve their chances of keeping the closer, but are still unsure of what they intend to do with Kuroda.
"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," Kuroda wrote.
The $15.3-million qualifying offer might be too much for a closer like Robertson, but the Yankees might be forced to offer such salary.
The 29-year-old, who took the role left by Mariano Rivera, had 39 saves with a 3.08 ERA and 1.06 WHIP last season, is expected to draw the interest of several teams when he hits free agency. But with the Yankees plan to extend a qualifying offer, the market could be limited because teams are expected to hesitate giving up a first-round pick to acquire him.
"The Yankees very much want to keep Robertson, and while they may view the $15.3-million salary as a tad high, they seem to prefer to protect themselves with the possibility of a draft choice should Robertson sign elsewhere," Heyman noted.
While Robertson is expected to get a qualifying offer before the deadline on Monday, Kuroda will likely hit free agency because the Yankees view $15.3 million as too much of a salary for the veteran pitcher, but it won't be an easy decision as indicated by Heyman.
"There is some belief Kuroda could retire, anyway, but it is hard to see anyone signing him to his usual one-year deal for more than $15.3 million and being willing to give up the draft choice," Heyman wrote. "The $15.3 million salary probably isn't too far above Kuroda's value, though, making the choice difficult."
Kuroda went 11-9 with a 3.71 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 32 starts for the Yankees last season.
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