The Yakult Swallows will accept the highest bid from a major league club for the right to negotiate with southpaw Kazuhisa Ishii, who is trying his hand in the majors, Yakult President Yoshikazu Tagiku said Tuesday.
At least five teams, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, are expected to have made bids for Ishii in a closed-door auction, and the highest bidder was notified to the Japanese baseball commissioner's office earlier Tuesday.
"We held a board of directors meeting over the phone and agreed on working toward accepting (the winning bid)," Tagiku said after receiving word from the commissioner's office.