(Can't say I blame the guy for rejecting. Courtesy of Getty Images)
As expected, Rafael Soriano and Nick Swisher were among the group of all 9 players who rejected the qualifying offers made by their respective teams. Slightly less expected, but only slightly, was Hiroki Kuroda also being a part of that group to reject his qualifying offer, making it open season for all teams interested in his services to make him an offer. There were reasons to believe that Kuroda could possibly accept the qualifying offer to come back to New York next season - he was reported to have enjoyed his time in New York and to be looking for another 1-year deal- but now the Yankees will have to re-focus their efforts to get a deal done. Kuroda is the most important piece for the Yankees to bring back to solidify next year's starting rotation. What needs to be done to make sure that happens?