New York Yankees Set to Acquire Kuroda, Pineda and Trade Montero to Mariners

The New York Yankees' quiet winter came to an end in a loud way on Friday night, when they traded power-hitting catcher Jesus Montero along with Hector Noesi to the Seattle Mariners for top pitching prospect Michael Pineda and Minor League hurler Jose Campos (via MLB.com)

Just about an hour later, news broke that New York's rotation would be further boosted with the signing of free-agent right-hander Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $10 million deal (via ESPN).

In less than 60 minutes, Ivan Nova went from the Bombers' second to fourth starter, and A.J. Burnett, Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes will be left to battle it out for the fifth spot in spring training.

My guess is that Burnett stays in the rotation, Hughes returns to the bullpen to serve as a late-inning reliever and Garcia becomes the long man.

But let's start with Kuroda.

Any way you look at it, this is a great signing for the Yankees. Although he'll turn 37 next month, the former Dodger had a career-low 3.07 ERA and a career-high 161 strikeouts in 202 innings of work last year.

That marked the fourth consecutive season he posted an ERA of 3.76 or lower. This is exactly the type of consistent arm New York needs at the top of the rotation behind CC Sabathia.

The Pineda deal is a lot trickier because of the steep price the Yanks had to pay.

Montero has long been the club's top prospect and he showed why during his first 18 games at the Major League level last season. The 22-year-old hit .328 with four homers and 12 RBIs in just 61 at-bats.

With Jorge Posada's impending retirement, Montero figured to be the team's DH of the future, but instead, he has gone the way of Austin Jackson, Ian Kennedy and many more before them.

Nevertheless, Montero wasn't traded for a washed-up superstar: He was swapped for another young stud who appears to have a very bright future.

During his rookie season last year, Pineda posted a 3.74 ERA in 171 innings for Seattle. What was more impressive, though, was his 1.099 WHIP and 9.1 strikeouts per nine.

Somewhat of a concern, however, was the way the right-hander finished his first campaign. After getting off to an 8-5, 2.58 start, Pineda, who turns 23 on Wednesday, went just 1-5 with a 5.71 ERA over his last 11 outings.

The Yankees desperately needed pitching help this offseason.

However, fans will be left to wonder if Kuroda would have been enough. Perhaps New York could have signed another free agent—one who may not have been quite as good as Pineda, but wouldn't have forced the club to make such a large sacrifice.

Jordan Schwartz is a New York Yankees Featured Columnist. Follow him @JordanHarrison.