Thursday night, former New York Yankee ace Chien-Ming Wang was non-tendered by the Washington Nationals after signing with them before the 2010 season. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, it simply means Wang is now a free agent.
The right-handed pitcher won a combined 38 games over the course of the 2006-07 seasons, but was never the same after injuring his foot running the bases in Houston during interleague play. Wang underwent shoulder surgery in July 2009, signed with the Nationals in February 2010, but never pitched in a major league game.
Now that he’s a free agent, Theo & Co. should pursue him. How would you like to see this?
In an offseason with a steep drop-off in free agent starting pitcher talent after Cliff Lee, Wang represents the low-risk, high-reward player Theo loves to take chances on. His presence would make for a fun 5th-starter competition with Daisuke Matsuzaka come spring training (along with recent Sox signee Brandon Duckworth?), which would only benefit the team. It could 1) light a very needed fire under Dice-K, and/or 2) give Wang a chance to show he still has what it takes to be a major league starter.
Wang is also a sinkerball pitcher, which meaning he elicits many, many groundballs. A Sox infield that includes Gold Glovers Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, and—in a perfect world—Adrian Beltre could serve CMW well in an attempted comeback.
Realistically, chances are that if Wang even becomes an effective major league pitcher again, he will not regain his dominate 2006-07 form. But it cannot hurt to give him a minor league or major league-minimum, incentive-laden deal to see what he has left.
Something tells me John Henry could afford it.
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