Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Wang Comes to Washington

Former New York Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang appears to have agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with the Washington Nationals. The signing will become official on Friday.

The Washington Post is correct in describing this signing as "less a purchase than a gamble."

Wang won 19 games with the Yankees in both 2006 & 2007. The Taiwanese born right-hander finished runner up to Johann Santana in AL Cy Young balloting in 2006. However, his career went off track when he sustained a foot injury while running the bases in Houston in June 2008 forcing him to miss the rest of the season. Wang subsequently developed hip and shoulder trouble. The latter of which required surgery. In 2009, Wang finished 1-6 with an atrocious 9.64 ERA.

Which Wang Washington will get very much remains to be seen. But Wang need not win 19 games to have a positive impact. If he and ex-Rockie Jason Marquis can win 10 to 12 games they will give the Nats starting rotation a much needed veteran presence and will ease the pressure on the likes of Jordan Zimmermann and Steven Strasburg, the top pick in the 2009 MLB Draft.

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