The Miami Marlins have agreed to sign starting pitcher Wei-Yin Chen to a five-year, $80 million contract.
The deal includes a potential sixth year that vests if Chen throws 180 innings in the fifth year of the contract, or 360 total innings between the fourth and fifth years. The player option would pay him an extra $16 million, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman.
The deal also contains an opt-out clause after the second year, meaning Chen can have a relatively short or an extended stay in Miami based on a variety of factors.
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Chen was arguably the best starter remaining on the free agent market. The Marlins already have one of the top hurlers in all of baseball in Jose Fernandez. Chen should provide them a solid number-two option to place behind their ace.
The 30-year-old left-hander turned in four effective seasons as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Over that span Chen owns a 46-32 record, 3.72 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He was a quietly reliable rotation presence for the O’s in one of the more difficult divisions in which to pitch.
The 2015 campaign was a particularly good one for Chen, his best yet as an MLB pitcher by most metrics. He posted a 3.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 3.73 K/BB ratio over 191.1 innings. His 124 ERA+ was the best of his career by a significant margin (his previous high was 111 a year earlier).
Chen should continue to put up strong numbers in the National League. Marlins Park plays relatively neutral as far as big league stadiums go, which is fair news for the homer-prone lefty. Chen sported a troublesome 12.3 percent HR/FB (home run to fly ball) rate in 2015 and has an 11.2 percent rate for his career.
Even with the addition of Chen, it’s hard to feel especially bullish about Miami’s chances this upcoming season. It will be difficult to climb over the Mets and Nationals in the NL East standings, and a lot will hinge on the health of Fernandez and slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
The Marlins rotation is also somewhat murky after Fernandez and Chen. They recently signed veteran righty Edwin Jackson, but he hasn’t posted a sub-4.00 ERA as a starter since 2011. From there Miami will be depending on Tom Koehler, Jarred Cosart, David Phelps and others to fill out the staff.
Regardless of the Marlins’ 2016 outlook, pundits wondered whether Chen would find a five-year offer on the free agent market and it would seem that was a clinching factor in his move southward. The chance to earn a sixth year is icing on the cake. The Nationals had also reportedly shown interest in Chen.
At this point it’s hard to predict Chen’s likelihood of activating that sixth year on his deal, but he has been rather durable so far in his major league lifetime. He has thrown at least 180 frames in all but one of his MLB seasons; he missed some time in 2013 due to an oblique injury.
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