By the end of the 2012 season, the New York Yankees a) had won more games than any other team in the American League, and b) were relying heavily on two starting pitchers who would become free agents in November.

Tuesday, one of those pitchers -- Japanese right-hander Hiroki Kurodi -- returns to the fold, at least according to ESPN's Buster Olney, who reports that Kuroda is re-upping for one year and $15 million. This news comes after a fair amount of talk that Kuroda might sign with the Dodgers, or perhaps even return to Japan to continue his career.

This is obviously good news for the Yankees and perhaps better news for Kuroda, who signed a one-year deal with the Yankees a year ago, then went 16-11 with a 3.32 ERA and was clearly the team's second-best starting pitcher (after CC Sabathia). With the pitching market thin this winter, the Yankees will presumably turn their attentions to re-signing 40-year-old Andy Pettitte, who made only a dozen regular-season starts this year, but pitched effectively in his two postseason starts.