NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Oakland Athletics have won negotiating rights to Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma and now have 30 days to come to terms with him on a contract, Major League Baseball website mlb.com reported on Monday.
The A's, believed to be in competition with American League West rivals Texas and Seattle for the rights to 29-year-old Iwakuma, submitted the winning bid to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Pacific League.
Oakland's bid was not disclosed, although the Golden Eagles were expected to receive more than $16 million on the posting.
If signed, Iwakuma would join an A's pitching staff that already boasts a young, talented rotation of Trevor Cahill, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez and Dallas Braden, raising the possibility of a trade for much-needed power in the lineup.
Iwakuma compiled a 10-9 record and 2.82 earned run average last season, averaging nearly seven strikeouts against 1.6 walks per nine innings.
(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Alison Wildey)
