Chien-Ming Wang Returning to Majors

The Nationals are set to welcome Chien-Ming Wang back to the majors tonight as the pitcher will take the mound for his first big league start in over two years.

Wang was one of the best young pitchers in baseball until injuries took their harsh toll.  From the time he came up with the Yankees through the 2007 season, Wang maintained an ERA of 3.74 over 533.2 innings of work.  The Taiwan native twice won 19 games over that span, and finished second in Cy Young voting in 2006.

But Wang’s luck began to change in 2008 when, in the middle of the season, the right hander was forced to leave a start early with a foot injury.  While it didn’t require surgery, Wang was required to use crutches and a protective boot, and the rehab was so extensive that he didn’t return for the Yankees in 2008.

Wang was able to come back to start the 2009 season, but could never put things back together.  After racking up a staggering 34.50 earned run average over his first 3 starts, Wang was sent to the Yankees minor league training complex in Tampa to try and sort things out and regain his confidence.  New York then tried him out of the pen and eventually gave Wang another shot in their rotation, but all to no avail.

It was eventually announced that Wang would require season ending shoulder surgery and, as the Yankees went on to win the World Series, Wang was eventually released.

Wang’s since been signed by the Nationals, and after dishing out nearly $3 million for him, Washington hopes to see what they’ve got tonight.

Pitching between four levels, Wang has started 6 minor league games for Washington in 2011, posting an ERA of 3.14 over his 28.2 innings pitched.  Manager Davey Johnson has said that Wang will be on an 80 to 90 pitch count this evening when he takes on the Mets.

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