Hiroki Kuroda signs 1-year deal with Yankees

Former Dodgers' starter Hiroki Kuroda signed a 1-year deal believed to be worth $10 or $11 million today with the Yankees.

This deal follows the blockbuster trade that landed the Yankees Michael Pineda from the Mariners for Jesus Montero.

I hope Kuroda does well in New York. It's obvious he wanted to remain in Los Angeles, especially after invoking his no-trade clause at the trade deadline. It seems he was likely to end up in Boston in that trade. The Red Sox showed interest in him this winter, too.

But here we are in the new year and Kuroda is heading 3,000 miles east. It's unfortunate because Kuroda is coming off one of his best seasons and is actually, according to the first report, taking a small paycut from last year's $12 million salary.

We've been through the "Dodgers should have brought back Kuroda" song and dance, so we won't go there again.

Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness called this one on Twitter, kinda, on Tuesday.

"Not to stir the rumor mill, but Kenji Nimura, who joined the Dodgers in 08 to translate for Kuroda, has moved on to the Yankees."

It remains to be seen if this actually had an impact on Kuroda's decision, but it's safe to assume it had at least a little bearing on the signing.

Anyway, here's to Kuroda doing well in New York. He was a strong competitor and did nothing but his job for the Dodgers.