Dodgers Sign Hiroki Kuroda
The Mariners lost one of their first targets pitching, the Japanese free agent Hiroki Kuroda, who agreed Saturday on a three-year contract to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The agreement will be worth $ 35.3 million, according to mlb.com. The Dodgers will introduce Kuroda today during a press conference at Dodger Stadium.
The Mariners’ pursuit of Kuroda included a trip to Japan to meet with him in early December by the general manager and manager Bill Bavasi John McLaren.
“We worked hard on this and gave our best shot,” said McLaren by telephone Saturday. “We would have liked to have had him, but we have to go forward and try our next option.”
The Mariners are thought to have offered a similar contract Kuroda as Dodgers, perhaps even more so for money. The Kansas City Royals offered a deal of four years, and the Arizona Diamondbacks are also in the running.
Kuroda, but settled on the Dodgers, whose closer, Takashi Saito, is a good friend. One of the advisers Kuroda, Shigetoshi Hasegawa, the former Mariners’ pitcher, also lives in Southern California.
The sea had hoped that their history with Japanese players, and the presence of Ichiro and, in particular, catcher Kenji Johjima, Kuroda sway.
However, Seattle’s hopes appeared to dim earlier this week, when Kuroda flew from Japan to Los Angeles, canceling plans to visit all its future city. One of his agents Kuroda insisted that he was still to make his mind and was still mulling offers, but that ended with the agreement Saturday.
“He heard only he and his family could assimilate faster and be more convenient to Los Angeles,” said Steve Hilliard, Kuroda co-agent, in a telephone interview.
“The sea was very professional throughout the process. Their exercise was taken very seriously. They have done everything they could have possibly done, and done well.
“It is not only a cliché, in this case - money was not the driving force in its decision. Had more lucrative offers elsewhere.”
The sea will now have to turn in other directions to achieve their goal of a rotation upgrade. They are still pursuing an exchange of Baltimore’s Erik Bedard. Free agents still on the market include Kyle Lohse and Carlos Silva.
“We have other options,” said McLaren losing Kuroda. “We had a different game plan, if it did not work, and that the point where we are now. We’ve got some coals in the fire. We will only see where we doorway. Bill’s got some things going.”
Assistant general manager Lee Pelekoudas agree to the sea were ready to act if Kuroda went elsewhere.
“We are going down, not just a path,” he said. “We are going to parallel paths, investigating more things.”
Kuroda, 32, was 12-8 with a 3.56-deserved medium term last season for Hiroshima. He led the Central League with 15 wins in 2005 and won the title in ERA (1.85) in 2006.
Kuroda has a lifetime 103-89 record with a 3.69 ERA in 11 seasons, all with Hiroshima. And ‘work, with 74 complete games in 244 career starts. He is generally regarded as a scout from middle-of-the-rotation pitcher, but many people felt baseball was the best available free-agent pitcher in a weak class. You can buy Dodgers Tickets for all Dodger games at Dodgers Stadium as well as all away baseball games.