Dodgers Hope They Can Swallow Up Ishii

The Yakult Swallows today accepted a bid from a major league team, believed to be the Dodgers, for negotiating rights to star pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii.

The Swallows, Ishii’s Japanese club, announced that they had accepted the high bid in an auction of major league teams. The Dodgers’ bid of $11.5 million was the highest known to baseball sources when bidding closed Monday.

In a dispatch from Tokyo today, the Associated Press said the winning bid was between $11 million and $12 million, but the Swallows cannot reveal the winningteam because they found out only the amount of the high bid, not the identity of the bidder.

The Dodgers did not know late Tuesday night whether they had won, spokesman Derrick Hall said. The Japanese commissioner’s office will officially notify major league officials today that the Swallows have accepted, and major league officials will then notify the winning bidder.

At least six teams, including the Dodgers and Angels, placed bids. The Dodgers were apprehensive about claiming victory because the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers have not confirmed how much they might have offered.

The Mariners outbid the Dodgers last year for the rights to outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, $13 million to $12 million. After Suzuki won the American League most-valuable-player award last season, the Dodgers were determined not to be outbid for Ishii.

Yakult keeps the bid money and allows the winning bidder to negotiate a contract with Ishii. The 28-year-old left-hander, who says he wants to play in Los Angeles, went 12-6 with a 3.39 earned-run average for Yakult last season. Assuming the Dodgers win the bidding, Ishii would be expected to sign a three-year contract worth at least $11 million.