The Cleveland Indians acquired Taiwanese right-hander Hu Chih-wei in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays for 18-year-old infielder Gionti Turner, the teams announced on Monday.
Hu, 25, appeared in five games in relief for the Rays last season, posting a 4.15 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 13 innings.
He pitched in six games for Tampa Bay the previous season and compiled a 2.70 ERA.
The Taiwanese spent most of the season in the starting rotation at Triple-A Durham, where he went 5-7 with a 4.66 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 24 games.
Turner was Cleveland’s 27th-round pick in this year’s draft. He appeared in 46 games in the rookie-level Arizona League, batting .296 with 22 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
Elsewhere, the Seattle Mariners traded left-hander James Paxton to the New York Yankees.
In return, the Mariners get three Yankees’ prospects in highly regarded left-hander Justus Sheffield, right-hander Erik Swanson and outfielder Dom Thompson-Williams.
Paxton, who has two years of arbitration control left, has compiled a solid resume since his debut in 2013. He has amassed a 41-26 record, while sporting a 3.42 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.
Last season, Paxton threw a no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays during a season in which he went 11-6 with a 3.76 ERA in 28 starts.
Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto said in a statement he was pleased with the return the club got for Paxton and noted their future plans for Sheffield.
“Justus Sheffield has an unquestionable prospect pedigree. With a combination of high-end velocity to go along with an advanced slider and a developing change-up, we think Justus has a chance to pitch at the upper portion of our rotation soon.”
The Washington Nationals signed free-agent catcher Kurt Suzuki to a two-year deal.
The deal pays Suzuki US$4 million next year and US$6 million in 2010, Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal said.
Suzuki, who batted .271 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs in 105 games last season with the Atlanta Braves, is likely to replace Matt Wieters, who is a free agent coming off an injury-plagued season.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS