Mark McGwire, who announced his retirement from baseball last month, is top of the Chunichi Dragons' wish list as the Central League club is looking to acquire a major-league superstar for next season.
Chunichi president Junnosuke Nishikawa said Tuesday the Dragons are set to start inquiries into McGwire and other candidates on the list, which also includes Andres Galarraga and Jose Canseco.
"We need a superstar and I hope it's not going to end up just as a dream," Nishikawa said.
"But McGwire is not alone among our top picks and at this stage I just wish he could come." Nishikawa said Chunichi executive Mitsuo Kodama, who is at the major-league winter meetings in Boston, will soon begin looking into the possibility of hiring the 38-year-old McGwire.