Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese pitcher to have appeared in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game over the past two seasons, has been traded by the San Francisco Giants to the Houston Astros.
“I’m truly grateful to the @sfgiants organization for all the development and support they’ve given me during this period,” Teng wrote on social media yesterday. “From the moment I entered the system, every adjustment and step of growth was met with patience and guidance.”
He also thanked the Astros’ front office for its interest and confidence in him, and for “giving me the opportunity to take on new challenges and responsibilities.”
Photo: CNA
The Astros waived pitcher J.P. France to make room for the Taiwanese right-hander on their 40-man roster, while the Giants received minor league catcher Jancel Villarroel and international bonus pool money in exchange.
The deal was first reported by The Athletic on Thursday night.
The move came about three weeks after the 27-year-old said he had decided not to suit up for Team Taiwan at this year’s World Baseball Classic following discussions with the Giants.
Citing Teng’s ability to generate swings and misses, Jacky Lee, a Videoland Sports anchor, said the trade was an attempt by the Astros to bolster their pitching depth after Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia declared free agency in the offseason.
“His experience serving as a long reliever can also add depth to the Astros’ bullpen, which lacks right-handers,” Lee wrote on social media, adding that the Giants’ pitching staff is deeper than that of the Astros.
Teng appeared in 12 MLB games over the past two seasons, including seven starts in eight outings last year.
He struck out 46 batters while allowing 33 earned runs over 40 2/3 innings, posting a 7.30 earned run average.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
Taiwan’s top male badminton player, Chou Tien-chen, on Saturday bowed out in the men’s singles semi-finals at the Thailand Open after losing in straight games to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The world No. 6 Chou, seeded fourth at the Super 500 tournament, lost to the world No. 2 Thai 21-7, 21-19 in 53 minutes. The victory improved Vitidsarn’s head-to-head record against Chou to 3-5. Chou, 36, trailed throughout the opening game after the score was tied 2-2. His relatively passive approach allowed the 25-year-old Thai to capitalize on Chou’s defensive clears with powerful smashes while committing few unforced errors. The Taiwanese
FRUSTRATION: Gauff smacked herself on the head with her racket before storming down the tunnel, emerging afterward to have a heated discussion with her coach Elina Svitolina on Saturday won the Italian Open after beating Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to claim her third Rome title, while Jannik Sinner set a date with Casper Ruud in the men’s final. Ukraine’s Svitolina had not claimed a WTA 1000 title since her last victory at the Foro Italico eight years ago, but prevailed over the ever-erratic Gauff to claim her 20th tournament triumph. Saturday’s win over Gauff was her third in a row against a player in the top four of the world rankings — including Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina — ahead of the French
West Ham United’s 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday left Tottenham Hotspur realistically only needing one more point to win the battle for English Premier League survival, while Bruno Fernandes made history in Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest. Spurs can avoid dropping out of the English top flight for the first time in nearly 50 years with victory at Chelsea today, but a draw would also likely suffice thanks to their much superior goal-difference over West Ham. “Overall bad performance. Too many things [went wrong], I think we gifted them the goals,” West Ham head caoch Nuno Espirito Santo
RSS