Yokohama BayStars general manager Shigeru Takada indicated on Friday that his club would likely pursue slugging first baseman Tony Blanco, whom the Chunichi Dragons have been unable to re-sign.

The 32-year-old, who led the Central League in home runs and RBIs in his first Nippon Professional Baseball season in 2009, has a career average of .262 over four seasons with 111 home runs and 309 RBIs. Blanco hit 24 homers in 96 games this year. He became a free agent on Friday.

"Now that he has been excluded from the reserved list, we want to move on this as quickly as possible," Takada said.

Blanco took over at first base for the Dragons following the departure of slugger Tyrone Woods, who joined Chunichi in 2005 after playing his first two seasons in Japan for the BayStars.