OSAKA -- Norihiro Nakamura signed a free-agent deal with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes on Wednesday, becoming the highest-paid Japanese baseball player with an estimated annual salary of 500 million yen for 2003 plus incentives.

News photoKintetsu slugger Norihiro Nakamura, who spurned the major leagues to remain with the Buffaloes, begins offseason training with a session in Tsuchiyama, Shiga Prefecture.

Kintetsu and Nakamura, who opted to remain with Kintetsu last month after a last-minute about-face from his decision to join the New York Mets, are believed to have reached a basic agreement on a six-year deal worth more than 3 billion yen.