MAJOR LEAGUES
Taiwanese pitcher Wang Chien-ming said yesterday he was very happy and satisfied with his new one-year contract with MLB club the Washington Nationals.
“I feel very happy and very grateful that the Nats helped me with rehab for two years,” Wang said at a press conference in Greater Kaohsiung.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
Wang is in Taiwan to play for the national team in a five-game exhibition series against the MLB All-Stars.
“I am very satisfied [with the contract]. It is not easy to go back to the baseball field ... I would like to make some contributions to the team,” the 31-year-old said.
The deal, pending a physical, is worth US$4 million plus performance bonuses, according to media reports. However, Wang declined to divulge more details of the contract.
Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he hoped to add a team option to Wang’s contract, but Wang and his agent, Alan Nero, had declined during negotiations and settled on a deal that would make Wang a free agent after next season, according to a report in the Washington Post.
A team option would give the Nationals the right to invoke a one-year option.
“That was a big part of the negotiation,” Rizzo was quoted saying.
The Nationals wanted a team option because if Wang performed well with the club, he could still return to the market as a free agent, but Wang and Nero turned down the option for that exact reason, the report said, citing Rizzo.
“At this price point that we signed Chien-Ming at, a one-year deal is what Chien-Ming wanted,” the Post quoted Rizzo as saying. “He wants to prove that he’s a healthy pitcher and get back on the market with a full, healthy season under his belt.”
A mutual option proposed by the Nationals was also turned down, as both sides thought it did not make sense, the report said.
Rizzo expects that after next season, the team would still have the “first right of refusal and have the best chance of signing him,” according to the report.
For Wang, the new contract represents another milestone in his recovery from a serious shoulder injury and major surgery that derailed his career with the New York Yankees in 2009.
The Nationals signed the Greater Tainan native to one-year contracts last year and this season, as they supported him during his rehabilitation. The team paid him US$2 million last year despite not having thrown a pitch.
Wang did not return to the majors until late July and went on to have a productive season. He recorded a 4-3 record with a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts.
The right-hander made US$1 million in base salary and earned an additional US$2.5 million in performance-based incentives for the season, according to the Post.
“I will do my utmost, competing on the field in good condition and enjoying every pitch,” Wang said at the press conference.
At the end of the press conference, Wang’s teammates Collin Balester and Ross Detwiler showed up to welcome him.
“It’s gonna be good and an honor and I think it’s gonna help our team win,” Balester said.
“He’s gonna be one of the best pitchers year in, year out,” left-handed Detwiler said. “It’s just an honor to be working with him and to learn from him.”
Wang will likely become the Nationals’ No. 3 starter in the pitching rotation, behind Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann, according to a Nationals press release.
Beginning next season, Wang will no longer be restricted to a pitch count as he was last season during his rehab stint in the minors and while he was in the majors, the team said.
Rizzo predicted in the press release that Wang would be in full form by spring training and ready to go.
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