Righty has struggled since injury in 2008
With pitchers and catchers officially reporting to spring training in five days, the Nationals completed their offseason work on Tuesday by signing free agent right-hander Chien-Ming Wang to a contract, according to Major League Baseball sources.
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Terms of the deal were unavailable, but the team has scheduled a press conference for Friday at its spring training headquarters in Viera, Fla. Wang, 29, provides another veteran arm to a rotation in desperate need of them. He joins free-agent signing Jason Marquis in a revamped starting rotation that relied heavily on rookie pitchers last season.
But despite four solid years with the New York Yankees, the Taiwan native is a risk. He was plagued by right foot problems in the second half of the 2008 season and struggled in the first half of 2009. Wang eventually underwent right shoulder surgery last July. That torn shoulder capsule has kept him from throwing off a mound since the surgery. It seems unlikely he will be ready to pitch when the season starts April 5. Wang’s agent, Alan Nero, told MLB.com in December that his client should be ready to pitch in a big-league game by May 1.
Wang was a key member of the Yankees’ rotation in 2006 and 2007 when the team reached the playoffs both seasons. He was a combined 38-13 those two years with a 3.63 ERA in 2006 and a 3.70 ERA in 2007. He started the 2008 season by going 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA, but tore ligaments in his right foot while running the bases during an interleague game at Houston.
At his best, Wang is a unique pitcher. He relies on one of the top sinkers in baseball, which, combined with his excellent control, is able to keep hitters off-balance despite a relatively tame fastball. Wang was third in the league in groundball percentage in 2006 and sixth in 2007. That allowed him to induce a combined 65 double plays those two seasons. He finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting in 2006 and allowed the fewest home runs per nine innings in both 2006 and 2007.
But the injury concerns led New York to non-tender their former ace on Dec. 12. The Yankees decided that the chances of Wang winning an arbitration case did not make financial sense if he wasn’t going to be healthy to start the 2010 season.
