Report: Hiroki Kuroda to return to Japan in 2015

Hiroki Kuroda's stint in the major leagues appears to be over as the 39-year-old right-hander is headed back to his native Japan for the 2015 season, according to Chugoku Shimbun, a local paper in Hiroshima.

Kuroda is reportedly set to reunite with the Hiroshima Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball, the club he spent 11 seasons with before making his MLB debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. The Japanese expatriate spent three more seasons with the Dodgers and completed his sojourn in the majors following a three-year stint with the New York Yankees, finishing his career with an impressive 115 ERA+ across 211 starts and one relief appearance.

Kuroda didn't receive a $15.3-million qualifying offer from the Yankees following the 2014 campaign, wherein he fashioned a 3.71 ERA with a 1.14 WHIP over 199 innings, and it was long speculated the Osaka native would finish his playing career in Japan.

Though his arrival in the majors wasn't met with the same fanfare that followed fellow Japanese imports Hideo Nomo or Daisuke Matszuaka, Kuroda finished his MLB career with the second-best ERA among Japanese-born starters (min. 80 starts).