Wei-Yin Chen: Five potential free agent destinations

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Where might starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen make his home in 2016?

Wei-Yin Chen isn’t going to receive nearly as much attention as some of the more prominent free agent starters on the market. However, once names like David Price, Zack Greinke and Johnny Cueto come off the board, you’ll probably start to hear about Chen more often.

The left-hander has quietly put up some strong numbers in his four seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. He sports a 3.72 ERA over 706.2 total innings in that span. This year was his best yet, as he posted a 3.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 3.73 K/BB in 191.1 frames. He has also been fairly durable, making at least 30 starts in each year but 2013, when he went on the DL with an oblique injury.

Chen’s performance is even more impressive when you consider the level of competition he faced in the AL East. He is by no means a frontline starting pitcher, but you could do much worse for a number-three type. At 30 years of age, a five-year deal seems possible. It’s also worth keeping in mind that he received a qualifying offer, so signing him would require a draft pick.

With several other key free agents to consider, along with a reported desire to re-sign Chris Davis, the Orioles seem rather unlikely to bring Chen back. As a result, he could make a surprisingly large impact for a new club in 2016. Here are five teams that could reasonably make a run at Chen this offseason.

Next: Team #1