Fukuoka Daiei Hawks infielder Nobuhiko Matsunaka, who won the Pacific League RBI title last season, turned down an offer of a 310 million yen annual salary after a second round of talks with team officials on Wednesday.
Matsunaka, who drove in 123 runs in the cleanup spot to help lead the Hawks to the Japan Series championship in 2003, was offered 10 million yen more than when the two sides met late last month but was still not satisfied with the pay raise of 151 million yen.
The 30-year-old will have to cover his own costs in order to take part in spring training, which kicks off Sunday in Miyazaki since he is not formally a member of the team without a contract agreement.