Major League Baseball (MLB) team Minnesota Twins have won the bidding rights to the Japanese infielder Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who plays in the Chiba Lotte Marines.
Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball’s Pacific League accepted the Minnesota Twins’ bid for the negotiating rights to the player.
They will now have 30 days to sign him on major or minor league professional contract, MLB said.
The player’s current club had already said that they would accept the highest MLB bid.
Nishioka lead his current team, the Marines to the Japan Series title this year. He had a league high of .346 batting average, as well as 206 hits. Nishioka is a switch-hitter but he can also play at second base.
Since Ichiro Suzuki achieved the performance in 1994, Nishioka is the first player to get 200 PL hits and to lead the Japanese baseball in 144 games, 121 runs and 287 total bases.
