Six-time All-Star outfielder Chen Tzu-hao has signed a historic 10-year contract with the Wei Chuan Dragons, the longest deal ever in Taiwan’s professional baseball history.
Sources familiar with the matter yesterday told reporters that Chen decided to leave the CTBC Brothers to join the Dragons and sign a new contract that is the first in the history of Taiwan’s CPBL to exceed five years.
The deal includes franchise and player options, although specific terms have not been disclosed, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Photo: CNA
Multiple Chinese-language media reports said that the contract is for a total of about NT$100 million (US$3.06 million), although it was unclear if the contract was fully guaranteed.
The team reportedly has a buy-out option and Chen can opt out at some unspecified time during the deal.
If accurate, the total value of the contract would set a league record, surpassing the NT$92.5 million, 3.5-year deal signed by Yu Chang with the Fubon Guardians earlier this year.
The 29-year-old Chen was among the first high-school players to enter the CPBL draft in 2013, the year the league introduced a separate draft for high-school players.
He was selected seventh overall by the then-Brother Elephants (now the CTBC Brothers) and has played for the franchise since.
In 87 regular-season games this year, Chen recorded 83 hits, including 17 home runs, in 301 at-bats, driving in 60 RBIs with a batting average of .276.
Chen’s decision to join the Dragons marks the first time the CTBC franchise has been unable to retain a player after declaring free agency.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS