The Orix BlueWave of the Pacific League announced Thursday that the club has received and accepted a bid of $13,125,000 from a major league team for the right to negotiate with seven-time league batting champion Ichiro Suzuki.
Team president Yutaka Okazoe did not disclose which team in North America made the bid, but the team will now have 30 days to sign the 27-year-old outfielder.
If Suzuki, who indicated last month his wish to play in the major leagues next season, concludes a deal with the bidding team, Orix will be paid the bid money.
Suzuki, known more popularly in Japan by his first name "Ichiro," would become the first position player from Japan to have a chance to play in the majors.
If a deal can not be reached, Suzuki will revert to Orix for another year and the offering club will keep its money.
The Kobe-based team was informed of the bid amount, worth some 1.4 billion yen, by the commissioner's office of Japanese baseball, which had been told of the offer by the commissioner of Major League Baseball.
The deadline for bids were to be submitted to the MLB commissioner's office by Wednesday. It was expected that seven or eight teams would submit bids for the right to talk to Suzuki.
Only the highest bid was reported to the Japanese commissioner's office.
Giants ink S. Korean
The Yomiuri Giants have signed South Korean star pitcher Chung Min Tae, a member of the Olympic squad that won the bronze medal at the Sydney Games in September, officials of the Central League club said Thursday.
The signing of the Hyundai Unicorns righty came one day after Yomiuri representatives arrived in Seoul to negotiate with Hyundai officials.
Terms weren't released.