The Nationals are the latest team linked to free agent righty Chien-Ming Wang, reports MLB.com's Bill Ladson. Wang, 30 in March, had surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right shoulder capsule on July 29th of last year. On January 28th, Wang's agent Alan Nero told ESPN's Jayson Stark that his client is expected to "make a major-league start sometime in the first two weeks of May." If we project Wang's return date as May 15th, that'd be 75% of a season.
Nero told Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports a week ago that he's "anticipating a major-league offer with a substantial guarantee and substantial upside." About six clubs have been in on Wang this winter to some extent, including the Nationals, Dodgers, Phillies, Cardinals, and Mets. SI's Jon Heyman says an April showcase is possible.
I miss when this guy was NYY’s #1. LOL
It takes more than 1 Wang to get the party started. lol
true or false: the mets could do worse than offer an incentive-laden contract to Chien-Ming Wang
True, but if his agent to be believed (and of course that’s a huge IF), Wang is searching for guaranteed money…so another question is will a team be dumb enough to give it to him?
id like to se the sox take a chance on him
No thanks. Nothing’s worse than a 6-foot Wang with a torn ligament.
No thanks. Nothing’s worse than a 6-foot Wang with a torn ligament.
I can see Wang pitching 7 scoreless against us late this season, probably in a Dodger or Phillies jersey. I would like to prevent that and sign him, but the Wilpons probably have other ideas.
No shot the Wanger is in an MLB uni on an MLB mound before the ASB. I loved the he was in NY but he takes longer than usual to rehab and always took him a long time to get is arm strength rolling.
I could definitely see him starting in the minors my may 15… but no shot hes in the Majors by then
If I was him, there’s no chance in hell that I’d go to the Mets. He’s already rehabbing a serious injury and with the way the Mets handled Putz, Beltran, Reyes, and Church, he’d be a damn fool to sign with the Metropolitans.
I think if Wang wanted to reestablish himself as a top-flight pitcher, he should join a team in a spacious ballpark and/or good defense. Jarrod Washburn, who is pretty washed up, did really well for himself with an excellent defense behind him last season. If Wang went to Seattle or San Diego, his numbers would surely speak for themselves.
totally agree. i don’t know why every rehabbing-type pitcher doesn’t give the brass in san diego a call… or if they do, i don’t know why san diego doesn’t sign them all. it seems that every year they could potentially have 3 of their 5 starters on one-year make-good contracts. this year garland signed, but i don’t know why that should stop them from making one-year offers to escobar (passed) or washburn or wang. even wellemeyer.
also, if you’re yorvit torrealba, why do you play hardball with the rockies management only to sign a time-share contract in san diego? how badly do you want to be the next michael barrett?
Disagree. Wang is and always has been a groundball pitcher. We’re not talking about a guy who was giving up home runs. In fact last year his ground ball to flyball ratio was in his career average. So really, a spacious park won’t change anything.
i suppose the slick fielding skills of middle infielders david eckstein (-18.8 UZR/150) and Everth Cabrera (-15.9 UZR/150) won’t change anything either?
What you say about the spacious park is true. However, I am a former pitcher (I’m not actually Devern Hansack, haha) who has battled through shoulder problems. If the weakness in his shoulder causes him to overcompensate, he’s going to end up leaving the ball up too frequently.
Alright, I do seem to have neglected one major stat when I responded to you originally. The fact that his HR/9 rate was higher than ever before. But if it’s a mechanically issue then what he needs is his confidence back, a good coach, and at least a month in the minors.
A spacious park would be more of a disaster for Wang. He’s a sinker-ball pitcher with no sink action. He’s throwing flat & hitters are squaring up with line drives. Line drives in the gaps of a large park = 15+ ERA. A team or park is not going to help Wang – he needs to get his legs healthy again so he can power that sinker. Until he does that & gets his confidence back – he will be a disaster!
I’ve never been a fan of Wang. Just not my thing. I know, I know…..some dudes would really like to see Wang….I personally wouldn’t. That’s just me.
Nice work sir….
To be totally immature…
Does anyone think Wang has the stamina or durability to go the distance every fifth game?
i think Wang would still be a nice fit with the Yankees. Why not sign him to a small contract with a lot of incentives based on innings pitched, etc. and let him reestablish himself. I would sign him and put him in the bullpen and let him get some innings with no pressure, and also help set up Rivera with Chamberlain (or Hughes). Then if Hughes (or Chamberlain) struggles, hes a very solid number 5 starter, maybe the best in the league. I think he would be a great fit.
But I will say that the team that needs him the most is probably the New York Mets. I dont know what they are thinking this winter.
hmm… why not, eh?
i presume “why not” because he’s not interested in signing a small contract with a lot of incentives at the moment?
especially if he’s “anticipating a major-league offer with a substantial guarantee and substantial upside.” not that this info was in the article above or anything.
i know. but he should just deal with this type of contract and get ready to win some rings and pitch for a year in and year out contender.
In my opinion, he’s this year’s Daniel Cabrera.
Daniel Cabrera? Cabrera has never been good, even average… You must be kidding, even if he is bad hes not him….you mean like, wild and can’t throw a strike type. No hes never been that even when he came back and was getting hit. Wang is going to need some time to get back into form, foot, shoulder injuries and he has to have everything in rhythm, but when hes right he pitches deep into games and doesn’t allow too much, I know the Yanks said they would like the last word if he gets any good offers to possibly match. I think his agent is asking a little much but I guess if he throws well in auditions…maybe
No I meant like Cabrera in that he’s a high risk-high reward kind of guy. If he’s healthy he can eat up some solid innings but his recent history doesn’t suggest that and if you throw a significant amount of money at him, you might lose your investment. Maybe the Yanks mismanaged him and a new environment would help. I’d welcome him in DC, for what it’s worth.
DC..totally agree there…you’re right, I’m a Nats/Yanks fan so I’d love to see the Nats take a shot, the guy is still young and has pitched on the big stage. When he is right he is filthy good and these are the kind of pitchers the nats should be targeting. A couple guys like this pan out and strasburg is the real deal, then we’d have something going. Nats offense is there. I like storen also…
I’m hoping hudson and wang…com on rizzo get it done!!
I’m really surprised that nobody has jumped on him yet. This guy finished 2nd in Cy Young voting for a reason. I don’t see why he hasn’t been offered a decent incentive laden contract. Wang is probably better than most teams’ 2nd SP. Yet, nobody seems to want to take the risk. Obviously he isn’t Brandon Webb, but he isn’t Bronson Arroyo either.
I’m really surprised that nobody has jumped on him yet. This guy finished 2nd in Cy Young voting for a reason. I don’t see why he hasn’t been offered a decent incentive laden contract. Wang is probably better than most teams’ 2nd SP. Yet, nobody seems to want to take the risk. Obviously he isn’t Brandon Webb, but he isn’t Bronson Arroyo either.