Orix Buffaloes outfielder Yoshio Itoi said Monday he will exercise his right to domestic free agency, even though the Pacific League club has offered him a major four-year contract.
"There could be teams that might be interested in me and I'd like to hear what they have to say," Itoi told reporters. Teams that are reportedly hoping to recruit the 35-year-old include the Hanshin Tigers in the Central League.
Itoi, who joined the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in 2004 and moved to Orix in 2013 in a five-player trade, was the PL batting champion in 2014 and amassed 53 stolen bases this past season for a share of the title in the category.
A member of the Japanese team that lost to Puerto Rico in the semifinals of the 2013 World Baseball Classic, he has batted .301 with 1,251 hits, 125 home runs, 525 RBIs and 245 stolen bases in 1,166 games in Nippon Professional Baseball.
He played in all 143 games this season, hitting .306 with 17 home runs and 70 RBIs.