From Joel Sherman’s Twitter via MLBTR:
Sherman (via Twitter) reported that Alan Nero, Wang’s agent, said that Wang was given the green light by Dr. James Andrews to start throwing by December 15 and that Wang may be able to pitch again by as early as the middle of April. In a follow-up tweet, Sherman noted that Yankee doctors have yet to examine Wang themselves.
This changes things from the Yankee perspective, but not greatly. They’re still a lock to non-tender him, and still won’t offer him a contract until he’s throwing on a mound again, which is at least 4-5 months away. As EJ discussed yesterday, they’ll want him off the roster for the Rule V draft so they can protect another player.
But the notion of him as some mid-season insurance policy goes out the window. Now it looks like he’ll be able to contribute to somebody for most of the season, and the question may come down to whether or not he wants to pitch with the Yankees. Wherever he signs, it’s likely that he will get a low-base pay incentive laden deal, so he’s going to want to have a regular spot in a rotation so he can prove he’s healthy and effective so as to get another (hopefully longer) deal for 2011. But if Brad Penny and John Smoltz are any guide, he could be guaranteed as much as 5 mil next year. Given how poorly that worked out for boy-genius Theo and his super-secret advanced medical analysis, I suspect no one will repeat that mistake.
In either scenario, the Yanks may not be willing to offer him a slot in the rotation with Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes targeted for the starting staff next year. Given the fact he’s coming back from not one but two injuries and was completely ineffective last year even when healthy, it’s difficult to imagine the Yanks guaranteeing him anything in terms of playing time. Plus, this is his 3rd shoulder injury in his tenure with the franchise. So it may not come down to money, but playing time and Wang may be the one who decides to play elsewhere.
However, there may be a silver lining for both parties. The Yanks want to keep Hughes’ innings down next year and I doubt will repeat the way they did things with Joba this past year. One solution would be to hold Hughes back until mid-May from joining the rotation. If they do that, it would give them an opportunity to get a look at Wang from mid-April to mid-May to see what he has. Looking at the 2010 schedule, they have an off day every week in the month of April, so you can skip the 5th starter for the first two weeks of the season and add Wang in the middle of the month to get a look at him. Also, Wang’s concerns about playing time could be addressed with some easy to reach incentives built into the deal, where a 2nd year automatically kicks in if he spends X number of days on the roster.
This isn’t a no brainer, but it isn’t impossible either. I’ll bet they figure something out.
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12 Responses to Chien Ming Wang ahead of schedule
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TIQ IQ
If there is ANY chance Wang could return to his 19-game winning form I would love to see him stay in the organization. He was a top-flight starter and there just aren’t too many of those out there.
True, but the key to his success was always his velocity. He threw 2 seamers at 94-96 MPH all night long. That’s rare, most sinkerballers work in the low 90s-high 80s. If he loses a bit of his velocity, he becomes very ordinary. At 95 MPH, he’s Chien Ming Wang, at 89 MPH he’s Sidney Ponson. That, and his injury history is why the Yanks never wanted to sign him to an extension.
Prior to hearing the recent Wang news I felt the Yankees should go ahead and offer him an incentive based contract if everything checks out healthwise. All indications as of now assuming Pettitte returns have the starting 5 as CC AJ Pettitte(hopefully he returns) Joba and Hughes. Joba should be ready for 200 innings while Hughes may have an innings limit. If CMW can come close to his old self, this would allow Hughes to start until July and because of the innings limit move to the bullpen for the stretch run and playoffs. Wang can than step into the rotation in Hughes spot. This would keep Hughes innings totals down as well as not overwork Wang coming off shoulder surgery. He is not going to cost a lot so it may be worth the gamble. Hopefully Wang can come back healthy and contribute.
Why would you start Hughes and then send him to the pen? That almost defeats the purpose of what last year taught us with Joba, you can’t just jerk these guys around from pen to starter to pen to starter back to the pen because of inning limits. If anything is to be done with Hughes limit it should be done at the beginning of the season by signing a pitcher who can start right away and allow Hughes to star his year in Scranton where he can have his innings constantly monitored and when he is ready for the stretch run with no limitation on the rest of the year you call him up.
“This isn’t a no brainer, but it isn’t impossible either. I’ll bet they figure something out.
Great line Steve!
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With all the money they have given to other players with less to offer, I see them making a deal that will work for both sides. Cashman is good at working things out…if, he sees an up side to the situation.
Nice post Mr. October, good thinking…will it work? Be nice if it works out.
I agree for years the Yankees have poured money into other players with less to offer. Really what would it cost to bring back CMW for a year or even two if need be. (1yr 1.4mill 2yrs 3 mill????)Perhaps first year guaranteed second year option kicks in after incentives are reached. They can even offer a Jon Lieber type deal. Who knows maybe the Yankees can catch lightning in a bottle again. I look at it as low risk high reward. We all know how devastating that sinker can be when CMW is right. Plus with Teixiera, Jeters new positioning at ss, and Cano getting his head out of his rear on the defensive side of the ball a ground ball pitcher can really do well. Again all of this depends on what the drs think of the shoulder.
You could catch lightning in a bottle or you could end up with a dead arm you can’t use and a wished you had spent money on a better pitcher… someone with more potential or more of a future than a 2nd time operated on shoulder for a sinkerball pitcher who’s pitches never sunk last year.
Even once he started rounding out some of the rough edges last year he still wasn’t throwing a good hard sinker and it really didn’t have any significant sink on the ball like he use to have.
Mr. October…
What you write looks good to me, the Yanks (sort of) owe CMW something for giving bad advice with his foot injury. Of course this is a business, the Yanks won’t let that interfere with their dealings with CMW.
I would suggest we wait and see what Cash has up his sleeve because, he will not pass on a functional pitcher with good skills. No mater what we read (mostly made up) of CMW and his shoulder…Cashman will know before anyone else.
You have written some good options for him but, as is his MO, Cash will come up with something completely different…he is very creative sometimes.
Some on this blog are much more optimistic then others, CMW, if healthy would be a great pick-up.
If healthy and effective… I really don’t want to sign him and have to end up with a guy who is still throwing from an awkward arm angle and someone who still can’t get on top of the ball and can’t make the ball sink.
Wang’s sinker will be more important now than it ever has been because after last year no one respects his sinker and because of this surgery you would assume he will once again scrap the slider and keep his shoulder safer so if it doesn’t have that old hard movement you may see a guy with on mediocre pitch.
This is a business and this decision should only be made under the right set of circumstances and only if those circumstances are laid out by the Yankees and not Wang.
Is Wang still smoking cigarettes? Has nothing to do with his injury but if he is still smoking he can’t be in great shape and that would make me even more hesitant.
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2009/11/yankees-may-let-chienming-wang-leave.html
“I am getting a strong vibe from Yankee officials that the intention is to non-tender Wang and, perhaps, not even offer him a small base with incentives to return.”
“The Yankees “will be very cautious” with pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post”
I’m just not sure the Yankees are going to be willing to dive into this thing… I mean Wang only got a 1 year deal last year because they didn’t believe in his abiltity to stay healthy and that is the only reason he never really got the big long term contract. Even if the Yankees did want to bring him back I can’t imagine them going over a year on a less than Pettitte contract.
If Wang ever returned to his form where he was 3.7 ERA and 19 game winner but I don’t think I ever see that again… You are talking about a guy who at this point in his career has had 2 shoulder surgeries and is going to be 30 years old next year, that’s not old for a pitcher but with his injuries it isn’t young and I doubt he can really pitch into his late 30s.
If he wants to sign a bigger contract with another team that’s fine with me, the only way I would bring him back if I was a GM would be on a minor league contract that gave no guarantee of call-up’s or playing time at the big league level. He would have to completely re-earn everything he had worked for within our organization and if he was cool with that I would bring him in but if he wants a guaranteed rotation spot and or he wants a multiple year deal then I let him go.
Does anyone know anything on this Ryota Igarashi of the Yakult Swallows? He has filed for free agency and has spent his entire 11 year pitching career in Japan.
“a 30-year-old right-hander used primarily as a relief pitcher, went 3-2 with three saves and a 3.19 ERA in 56 games. His best season was 2004 when he had 37 saves and 86 strikeouts in 66 games.”
I don’t know how interest the Yankees would have but it’s a guy who has closed in the Japanese league and apparently he has also thrown the fastest registered fastball by any Japanese pitcher in a NPB game at 98.75 mph.
He is represented by the same agent who represents Hideki Matsui and if he can actually pitch over here (which doesn’t always work out) then you may be looking at a guy who has setup man potential, I don’t think he would get a huge contract not being a huge name or anything.
EDIT: This was also on MLB Rumor about him…
http://www.npbtracker.com/2009/05/player-profile-ryota-igarashi/#content