Kuroda Also Mentioned As Potential Waiver Wire Bait

The Yankees refuted rumors that they are not chasing Dodger pitcher Hiroki Kuroda:

TORONTO -- General manager Brian Cashman said Wednesday that even though the pitching-depleted New York Yankees are engaged in a bitter division battle with the Tampa Bay Rays, he does not anticipate going outside the organization for help before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline.[…]

He also refuted media reports that the Yankees were planning to acquire Hiroki Kuroda, the Dodgers' Japanese righty who is rumored to have been placed on waivers by the Dodgers.

"I haven't thought about him. I don't even know if he's on waivers yet," Cashman said. "Besides, I'd be hard-pressed to find a pitcher on the waiver wire who can pitch better for us than Dustin Moseley has."

Kuroda, 25, is 8-11 with a 3.48 ERA for the fading Dodgers this year. He is owed $2.7 million in salary, an amount the Yankees can easily absorb, and will be a free agent this winter. But in order for the Yankees to get him, he would have to be passed on by every other team, including the Rays and Boston Red Sox, both of whom would have an interest in blocking him from going to the Yankees.