in 1998, the npb contract loophole was tested again when nomura advised hiroshima carp player alfonso soriano of the dominican republic who wished to move to mlb. although npb had amended the player contract to prohibit retired players from signing overseas, they had inadvertently failed to notify mlb of the change as required by the working agreement. after failing to reach a contract agreement with the carp, soriano declared his retirement as nomo had three years before. this decision resulted in the carp management suing nomura for $100,000 in damages as well as threatening legal action against any mlb ball club that negotiated with soriano. however, mlb eventually ruled that soriano could be classified as a free agent. the carp gave up pursuing legal action, and the suit with nomura was later settled. soriano signed with the new york yankees for $3.1 million over four years, a vast improvement over the $40,000 a year he was offered from the carp.