2012 MLB Free Agents: Nationals Re-Sign Chien-Ming Wang
By Editorial Staff
Free agent starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang and the Washington Nationals agreed to a one-year contract yesterday. Wang will make a guaranteed $4 million in 2012 and the deal will include incentives based on how many starts the right-hander is able to make.
From the end of the 2011 season, Wang and the Nationals made it known that both sides were working towards a new contract. Hitting free agency earlier this week, Wang already had a majority of the deal in place with Washington. Now all that is left is the pending physical and Wang will officially be a member of the 2012 Nationals.
Washington picked up Wang in 2010 after he was released from the Yankees. The Nationals hoped Wang could find his way back to 2006-07 form, when he won 19 games in back-to-back seasons in New York.
But Wang was coming off of major shoulder surgery and wasn’t able to pitch at all in 2010. The righty started out in the Minors in 2011, where he compiled an ERA of 3.14 over his six starts and 28 2/3 innings.
Wang then joined the Nationals in late July and made 11 Major League starts. All things considered, the 31-year-old was successful in his return to the bigs. Wang maintained an ERA of 3.10 over five August starts, and finished the season allowing six earned runs over his final three games spanning 17 2/3 innings.
Wang will be joining a 2012 Nationals’ rotation that includes Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and John Lannan. Now that Wang is signed, Washington is expected to pursue another free agent starter this winter. The Nationals’ targets include pitchers they can plug into the front of their rotation such as C.J. Wilson and Edwin Jackson.
For more on the Nationals, be sure to check out District on Deck.
You can check out all of the available free agents by position below.