They traded Ben Broussard, bid adieu to left-handed pitcher John Parrish and offered Horacio Ramirez a 2008 contract Wednesday — but the Seattle Mariners weren’t sure what to say about Hiroki Kuroda.
Kuroda, the Japanese free-agent right-hander, was the subject of any number of news stories, including several reporting he had chosen to join the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Other reports, citing sources here and in Japan, reported Kuroda had decided to sign with the Mariners — and a third version insisted he had flown to Southern California but only to consult with his agent, not to sign a deal with the Dodgers.
Confused?
“If you wonder why we don’t take the news too seriously, just read it today,” one Mariners executive said.
If Kuroda’s future was cloudy, the Mariners made certain that Broussard’s was not, dealing the 31-year-old left-handed hitter to the Texas Rangers for minor league middle infielder Tug Hulett.
The move will save Seattle an estimated $4 million.
Broussard, a reserve who started 56 games last season at four positions, batted .275 with seven home runs and 29 RBI. Hulett, 24, has never played in the majors but in Class AAA last season batted .275 with 11 home runs, 67 RBI and 20 stolen bases.
Parrish, 30, was a low-risk pick-up in August, when general manager Bill Bavasi traded minor league outfielder Sebastien Boucher to Cleveland. In eight games with Seattle, Parrish was hit hard and sent to Tacoma.
Ramirez, however, was a 2007 trade disaster after Seattle sent set-up man Rafael Soriano to Atlanta for the often-injured, soft-tossing lefty.
Ramirez never seemed to adjust to the American League, spent six weeks on the disabled list and was yanked from the rotation in September after going 8-7 with a 7.16 earned-run average built over just 98 innings.
Despite that, Ramirez will be back — in part because the team hopes veteran pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre can somehow make him a productive pitcher.
Hoping to add at least two starting pitchers, the Mariners had looked to the Far East — and made Kuroda an offer they thought he couldn’t refuse. With the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and Royals all in the bidding, Seattle was the only team to tack on a fourth year to its contract offer.
If reports of Kuroda joining the Dodgers are true, it wasn’t a matter of money and years that landed him.
In weighing whether to pitch for the Mariners or Dodgers, it was said Kuroda talked to other Japanese major league players about the differences between the American and National League — and was urged by pitchers to choose the latter.
Both teams have Japanese players already on their roster.
During the day Wednesday, news agencies produced stories in direct conflict with one another: ESPN, for instance, said Kuroda had not made a decision. MLB.com said he’d agreed to a three-year, $30 million contract with Los Angeles.
And one paper in Arizona said Kuroda had chosen Seattle.
No team could confirm any of the reports, with Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti telling writers late in the afternoon he’d heard nothing from Kuroda or his agents — even though Kuroda had landed in Los Angeles hours earlier.
“We know he’s here, (but) we haven’t spoken to him,” Colletti said.
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