Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming has signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves that includes a spring training invite, the Major League Baseball club and his agent confirmed yesterday.
The Braves signed Wang, 34, to add depth to their starting pitchers lineup as they have only four non-rehabbing, Major League-ready pitchers on their squad, the club said on their Web site.
Despite the invitation to train before the season begins in March, it is unclear if Wang will get a chance to start in the major leagues next year.
Photo: Cheng Yu-chia, Taipei Times
Announcing the signing, Mark Bowman — a journalist who follows the Braves — wrote that “the oft-injured” Wang “has not made more than 15 major league starts in a season since he recorded consecutive 19-win campaigns for the [New York] Yankees in 2006 and 2007.”
Wang last started in a major league game on Aug. 24 last year, when he gave up five runs (four earned) in three innings pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Houston Astros.
Last season, the right-hander made a combined 28 starts for the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago White Sox at Triple-A level, pitching a 4.12 ERA in 172-2/3 innings.
“While Wang might be considered a long shot to begin the 2015 season with Atlanta, he at least provides some of the starting pitching depth the Braves will focus on adding during their roster reconstruction process,” Bowman wrote.
Wang’s management company in Taiwan, Flight International Marketing Co, said in a statement that the former Yankee thought “long and hard” about his options, including the leagues in Japan and Taiwan.
“Wang remains determined to return to the major leagues one day and finally decided to stay [in the US],” the company said, adding that Wang could return to Taiwan next week and talk about his aspirations for the upcoming season.
Commenting on the decision to join the Braves, the company said that Wang had received similar offers from many other teams, but chose Atlanta after evaluating his chances of returning to the majors.
“Braves assistant general manager John Coppolella began his career with the Yankees and he knows Wang,” the company said. “Coppolella watched Wang pitch in the minor leagues several times last season. He was impressed by how Wang was able to handle 172-2/3 innings, as well as the quality of Wang’s pitching toward the end of the season. Therefore, he hopes to put Wang on the starters’ roster for spring training next year.”
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