Red Sox have 30 days to negotiate contract with ace

	Hello, Fenway: It appears Daisuke Matsuzaka will have to pitch for Boston if he wants to be in the major leagues next season. Donald Miralle/Getty Images
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By Jon Heyman, SI.com

NAPLES, Fla. -- The Boston Red Sox have won negotiating rights for Japanese League star Daisuke Matsuzaka, SI.com has confirmed.

The Seibu Lions have until Tuesday to decide whether to accept the bid, and it is expected they will announce they are accepting it on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET in a joint press conference with the Major League Baseball office. After the announcement, the Red Sox will have 30 days to negotiate a contract with Matsuzaka, a star right-handed pitcher. It is likely they'll be able to come to an agreement, but if they can't, the Red Sox will hold onto their bid money and Matsuzaka would return to Japan for at least another year.

At least eight teams and possibly several more are thought to have bid on Matsuzaka. The Mets, Angels, Yankees, Rangers, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Indians are all believed to have made a bid.

ESPN's Peter Gammons reported earlier on Monday that the Red Sox had the high bid. Previous reports have pegged the winning bid at $38-to-45 million and $42 million, but a source has indicated that the winning bid may be even higher than that.