OSAKA -- The Hanshin Tigers held negotiations with Norihiro Nakamura on Thursday, becoming the third Japanese team to pursue the free-agent slugger with a lucrative multiyear contract offer.
Hanshin, which lost its bid for Roberto Petagine to the Yomiuri Giants, apparently offered Nakamura a six-year deal worth more than 3 billion yen in a meeting attended by club president Katsuyoshi Nozaki and manager Senichi Hoshino.
Sources familiar with negotiations said the Osaka club boosted the offer during the talks from its original offer of 2 billion yen over four years.
"We had a good meeting. I think this will be it as far as negotiations with Japanese clubs. Now I'll wait and hope for an offer from a major-league team," Nakamura said. "Hopefully I'll make a decision before the end of the year."