NEW YORK (Kyodo) At least one major league club has made a bid ahead of the deadline to acquire Chiba Lotte Marines shortstop Tsuyoshi Nishioka via the posting system, baseball sources said Tuesday.
According to baseball rules, the team and bid amount have not been disclosed, but Nippon Professional Baseball has already been notified of the bid amount.
Lotte is set to accept the bid regardless of the amount and will notify the highest bidder on Friday.
The highest bidding club has the exclusive right to negotiate a contract with the All-Star shortstop over a 30-day period.
Nishioka is the second Japanese player to use the posting system this offseason after Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, whom the Oakland Athletics have won the right to negotiate with.