The Orix Buffaloes said Thursday they will sit for more negotiations with infielder Norihiro Nakamura, despite the slugger's decision two days ago to leave the team after talks with the Pacific League club broke down for the fifth time.
Nakamura, 33, will be accompanied by his agent, Hitoshi Mogitate, to sit for a sixth round of talks on Friday. In advanced negotiations, Orix offered a new deal that included a pay decrease of 60 percent for an annual salary of just 80 million yen, and no agreement could be reached in the talks that followed with Nakamura's decision to leave the team Tuesday.
Orix subsequently gave up on persuading Nakamura to remain with the team. "I requested that the team re-evaluate how it assesses players, but there was no improvement. If I am traded it's too bad," Nakamura said.