Left-handed pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii, who was released by the New York Mets last month, held talks with the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters on Sunday, a day after he met with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
Ishii was undecided whether to join Nippon Ham and is scheduled to have talks with his former team, the Yakult Swallows, on Tuesday.
"I don't know where we stand in the hunt for Ishii. But he listened to me diligently. I want him to come to our team whatever happens," said Nippon Ham General Manager Shigeru Takada, who hopes that Ishii will fill a spot in the starting rotation.
A total of seven Japanese and major league clubs have reportedly shown interest in acquiring him.