Infielder Nobuhiko Matsunaka became the final player to renew his contract for this coming season when he signed a new three-year deal on Saturday for an estimated 1.05 billion yen including performance-related bonuses with the Daiei Hawks. Matsunaka's agent Hiromi Takahashi and the Pacific League club's general manager Kenji Sato reached an agreement after a final round of negotiations that lasted four hours before the player put pen to paper at the club's training camp in Miyazaki.
"It's taken a long time to come to an agreement but I didn't want to sign until I was totally convinced that I was getting the right deal. Now I just feel relieved," said Matsunaka told reporters.