Veteran catcher Atsuya Furuta sealed a new contract with the Yakult Swallows on Thursday and will be paid an unchanged annual salary of 300 million yen plus performance bonuses next season.
The 39-year-old Furuta, who heads Japan's pro baseball players association, batted .306 this past season and hit 24 homers with 79 RBIs.
Meanwhile, Kazuhiro Wada decided not to accept an offer of a 50 million yen pay raise and a yearly pay packet of 210 million yen from the Seibu Lions.
"You want to get paid properly when you play for the No. 1 team in Japan," moaned Wada, who hit 30 homers and batted .320 to help Seibu win their first Japan Series in 12 years.
Closer Kiyoshi Toyoda, who went 5-1 with 11 saves this past season, also decided to hold out for a better deal after being offered 230 million yen, the same as last season.
Japan Series MVP Takashi Ishii, who had just one win during the regular season, took a 5 million yen pay cut and signed for 55 million yen.