NAGOYA – Chunichi Dragons general manager Kazumasa Ito said Wednesday the Central League team has given up on trying to convince Kevin Millar to honor a legally binding commitment to play in Japan.
The Dragons, who had fervently refused to sell the contract of Millar, abandoned their plans to pursue Millar after the newly signed outfielder refused to report to the team’s spring training camp that began Saturday hoping to play for the Boston Red Sox.
“There’s no point in dilly-dallying with talks anymore,” Ito said.
Chunichi’s chief negotiator Mitsuo Kodama, who traveled to the United States last week to persuade the 31-year-old to stick to the deal, was told by Millar’s agent via phone Wednesday that the outfielder has no intention of playing with the Dragons.
Chunichi president Junnosuke Nishikawa said, “This is not just a problem with Chunichi. In order not to leave this bad precedent between Japanese and major league baseball, we want to ask the advice of the (Japanese) commissioner and take the proper measures to end this matter,” Nishikawa said.
On Jan. 11, Chunichi announced the acquisition of Millar after both sides agreed to terms on a $6.2 million, two-year deal but the Red Sox later asked the team to sell Millar’s contract.
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