Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma was granted his wish Wednesday in a cash deal with the newly formed Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, Orix Buffaloes club president Takashi Koizumi said.
"Unless one of the parties relented, this would have a detrimental effect on pro baseball, Orix and Iwakuma's future. Orix club owner Yoshihiko Miyauchi made the final decision (to allow the deal)," Koizumi said.
Iwakuma, a former pitcher for the Kintetsu Buffaloes, had refused to play for the club created from the merger between the Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave, and had reached a stalemate on his demand to be traded after four rounds of talks with Koizumi.
The 23-year-old was one of 25 protected players picked from Kintetsu and Orix, despite his wish to be left off the list for an opportunity to be selected by Rakuten in the distribution draft Nov. 8.