Chen Ching-fong's (陳金鋒) chances of becoming the first Taiwanese to play in the major leagues have received a boost in the US.
His team, the LA Dodgers, have just announced the sale of its slugger Gary Sheffield to Atlanta.
The disgruntled player was traded for Brian Jordan, Odalis Perez and Class A righty Andy Brown.
The move is expected to make way for Chen to move into Sheffield's old position.
"We didn't get rid of Gary Sheffield," Dodgers General Manager Mike Evans told Reuters news agency. "We made the trade because we felt it made a lot of sense for us."
Sheffield is expected to play right field for Atlanta, with Andruw Jones in center, Chipper Jones in left and Vinny Castilla at third.
Chen is presently playing in the minor leagues with the San Antonio Missions, in the Texas League.
The previous season he enjoyed a large measure of success with the San Bernandino Stampede.
He signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in 1999 and earned California League Most Valuable Player honors, after becoming the first player in league history to total more than 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a single season.
The 24-year-old Taiwanese outfielder batted .316 (161-for-510) in 131 games and led all Dodger minor leaguers with 31 home runs and 123 RBI.
In addition he had 22 doubles, 10 triples and 31 stolen bases for the Stampede that season.
Chen was named to Howe Sportsdata's annual All-Prospect Team and played for the World team in the inaugural All-Star Futures Game, batting 1-for-3, at Fenway Park in Boston.
Also, he was named as the Dodgers' best minor league player and made it to No. 17 on the list of top prospects in the US major leagues.
The 24-year-old also came back to Taiwan to star for the national team at the Baseball World Cup at the end of last year.
His part in Taiwan's bronze-medal performance enhanced his reputation even further.
Chen is the second baseball professional from Taiwan to play in the US.
Tan Hsin-min (
Sheffield is a six-time All-Star and one of baseball's most feared hitters, batting .311 last season, slamming 36 homers and driving in 100 runs.
Three-fifths of the Dodgers' starting rotation for this year will likely be new, with Perez joining Japan's Hideo Nomo and Omar Daal as offseason acquisitions.
Ace Kevin Brown and Dreifort, who made 16 starts last season before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, are returning to a team that was third in the NL West last year.
Also to the Dodgers in the swap was pitcher Andy Brown, who missed last season.
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