Left-hander Kazuhisa Ishii, returning to Tokyo on Wednesday from a short training trip to Hawaii, said he is eager to seal a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers hopefully before Feb. 2.
"The team (the Los Angeles Dodgers) that I wanted to join the most made the highest bid for me, so of course I am enthusiastic about wanting to play for them," Ishii said at a news conference.
"Whether it's tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, I'm ready to get on the mound and play," the former Yakult Swallows southpaw added.
Ishii, who was in Hawaii for one week of training with former Yakult teammates Atsuya Furuta, Shingo Takatsu and Shugo Fujii, said he was fine-tuning his pitching for the majors.
The Dodgers, who last week won the right to negotiate exclusively with Ishii, made a formal contract offer late on Monday in their first attempt to sign the 28-year-old Chiba native, agent Joe Urbon said in New York on Tuesday.
Nakauchi apologizes
Daiei Hawks owner Tadashi Nakauchi on Thursday apologized to other Pacific League club owners for the commotion caused by speculation that the Fukuoka team was up for sale, denying again that any such plans were being considered.
According to Orix BlueWave owner Yoshihiko Miyauchi, who also attended the owners meeting in Tokyo, Nakauchi told the other owners that Daiei would not sell its majority stake in the club.