Dodgers, Ishii Still Far Apart

The Dodgers tried to bridge their negotiating gap with Kazuhisa Ishii by adding two option years to a three-year offer to the Japanese left-hander Monday, but their revised proposal didn’t make much of an impression on Ishii’s agent, Joe Urbon, who is growing more pessimistic about Ishii’s chances of signing with the Dodgers.

“It was a good effort, but nothing we’d consider,” Urbon said. “We have to get the [guaranteed portion] of the contract up to speed before we talk about any option years.”

The Dodgers won Ishii’s negotiating rights by posting an $11.26-million bid with the Yakult Swallows, Ishii’s Japanese team, in early January, but they will lose those rights unless they sign Ishii by 9 p.m. PST Friday. The Dodgers won’t have to pay Yakult the $11.26 million if they don’t secure the pitcher.

“The next 48 hours are crucial,” Urbon said. “We need to determine whether this is going to happen, because Ishii needs to cross the Pacific Ocean and get a physical [before he signs]. I imagine the Dodgers aren’t going to pay $11.26 million to Yakult until they’re sure Ishii passes a physical.”

The Dodgers on Monday came up slightly from their three-year, $8-million offer, but Urbon is seeking a deal comparable to the Swallows’ last offer to Ishii, a five-year deal that guaranteed more than $17 million. Urbon faxed Dodger General Manager Dan Evans a document summarizing recent negotiations between Yakult and Ishii.

However, it is unclear whether the Yakult offer will remain on the table if Ishii can’t come to terms with the Dodgers, or whether Ishii would even want to sign a long-term deal in Japan.

Ishii would become a free agent in Japan after 2002 and could sign with any major league team next year, so if he doesn’t sign with the Dodgers but wants to play in the U.S. in 2003, he would sign a one-year deal with Yakult for 2002. This has muddled the negotiating picture for the Dodgers, who aren’t sure if they are competing against a five-year offer from Yakult or a possible one-year offer.