Reuters report that the players and the clubs, locked in a bitter row over a planned team merger, held talks on Thursday to try to avoid a repeat of last weekend's strike - the first in Japanese baseball history - that forced the cancellation of games.
The owners of the 12 clubs, organised into two leagues, argue that the planned merger of the Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix BlueWave is inevitable.
The players insist, however, that having fewer teams will hurt the game and threaten their jobs. They have demanded owners allow other companies to establish teams and enter league competition from next season.
Kyodo news agency quoted unspecified sources as saying the two sides were nearing an agreement and were expected to work out the wording of a written accord during Thursday's meeting.
While the dispute between the players and the clubs has heated up, two Internet-related companies have said they wanted to set up new teams from next year.
Livedoor Co. Ltd., a company specialising in Internet services, has applied to baseball's governing body to set up a team in the northern city of Sendai, which has no team.
Japan's biggest Internet shopping mall operator, Rakuten Inc., has said it also wants to set up a team in Sendai.
