Yakult Swallows closer Hirotoshi Ishii wants to pitch in the major leagues but the team has refused to give him the green light to move to North America under the so-called posting system.
Ishii and club president Yoshikazu Tagiku failed to reach an agreement in their talks Thursday. Ishii insisted that Tagiku promised a year ago that the left-hander would be allowed to pursue a career in the majors from 2006.
But Tagiku asked Ishii to understand he cannot leave the team this offseason, with Atsuya Furuta serving as new player-manager next year.
Under the posting system, major league clubs present sealed bids to Japanese teams to acquire non-free agent players.
"I want the president to keep his word. He did promise me that he would let me go if I stayed injury-free and pitched well this year," Ishii said.
Elsewhere on Thursday, the Yomiuri Giants announced the acquisition of Gary Glover, who pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers this year.
Yomiuri signed the 28-year-old right-hander to a one-year contract worth an estimated $700,000, expecting he will compete for a spot on the starting rotation.