5:04pm: MLB.com's Bill Ladson reports that the Nationals are "aggressively pursuing" Wang, and that they are one of the finalists for his services. Ladson adds that it's unknown if they've made him an offer, though.
4:02pm: Chien-Ming Wang has received offers from two clubs and could sign soon, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Mets and Dodgers are not among the teams to offer Wang a contract. Rosenthal hears that the 29-year-old Wang would like to play for Joe Torre again, but Torre's Dodgers are lagging behind in their pursuit of the right-hander. As for the Mets, they're even further behind than the Dodgers.
The Orioles have discussed Wang and the Cardinals, Nationals and Phillies have all been connected to him this offseason. Rosenthal says the Blue Jays were in on Erik Bedard and wonders if they could pursue Wang, too.
Wang, who is recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery, will likely make a decision within a week or ten days.
Joseph
Wow, Dodgers disappoint again.
TimotheusATL
Just wait til the Mets fans read this. Collective head explosion imminent.
Guest 1347
The Mets have had much more of a struggling off-season than the Dodgers. I’m going to say it’s the Nats.
thegrayrace
Debatable. The Mets did acquire Jason Bay. The Dodgers biggest signing has been Vicente Padilla.
Carlos Herrera
Educated guess: The Cardinals.
TimotheusATL
Would make sense, actually. Dr. Duncan loves dem sinkerballers.
mojowo11
The buzz around the Cardinals indicates they’re not planning to sue what money they have left to sign a pitcher, so probably not, especially given what Wang was hoping to get contract-wise.
ajm317
You know its just a real shame the Mets can’t do anything. One of the biggest payroll and they have 1 reliable starter. Low risk High Reward and thats wang…..hes the only one left like this.
besttradever
Could be any team: Reds Pirates Red Sox, and so on. So i would say its the Pirates and the Rays.
Guest 1348
The Rays have no room for Wang…
start_wearing_purple
I sense a series of jokes coming…
Guest 1349
why?
orioles
Wang just doesn’t fit.
phillies1996
hahaha…. i get it……….. i kinda hope the phillies sign him and maybe use him as a starter for a bit and if he goes all chan ho park on us we move him to the pen
besttradever
Maybe so. But since the loss of Scott Kazmir, they could afford a new opening day pitcher.
Guest 1350
seriously?
They traded Scott Kazmir so that could clear the way for Wade Davis. They have Sheilds (their ace), Garza (their other ace), Niemann, Price, and Davis, and if anyone gets injured Jeremy Hellickson will get the call. Wang won’t even be ready until late April early May.
Guest 1351
Rotation depth is a myth.. the more starters you have, the better.
Guest 1353
not if you are spending millions on depth. The A’s and the Rays for example both have cheap cheap cheap depth. The A’s have Vin Mazzaro, Gio, and Clayton Mortensen and the Rays have Hellickson and McGee. Thats a total of like 1MM annually.
markjsunz
That is one myth the Dodgers will not have to worry about. The Rays have young pitching under team control,and very well may be heard from this year.
besttradever
Well, if you think about it, the Rays could go after anyone. Not really Wang, but maybe Washburn. I just now relized that i agree with you about Wang no going to Tampa. It would be a possible miracle for Tampa to sign Damon, Washburn. You could put Wasburn on the number 3 in the rotation, like this,
1. Shields
2. Garza
3. Washburn
4. Price
5. Niemann
R_y_a_n
Washburn as a full-time starter in the AL East?
Boy, that would be fun!
Guest 1357
But I think that Wade Davis or Jeremy Hellickson deserve first shot at the rotation. I think that Wang and Wash are both potential top of the rotation guys when healthy, WHEN HEALTHY. But I don’t think they have proven to be at that point yet.
brocnessmonster
Considering he’s on the shelf a couple more months… He’s probably not on the hill opening day.
MRPost
Why would the Rays add a struggling sinkerballer to the mix… they play on turf. Minnesota shelled out 7 million for Pavano, and he’s got better stuff — they are also moving out of the Dome!
gocrazy
A lot of teams could use a healthy Wang.
Suzysman
I know the Chicago GMs deserve one.
Jeff Chane
I would really like to see the Sox sign him concidering we didnt even go after justin d from oakland or an erik bedard
start_wearing_purple
Signing John Lackey wasn’t enough…?
Jeff Chane
ive learned you can never have too much
TimotheusATL
You mean aside from the fact that there’s no fit for him there whatsoever?
Jeff Chane
or the fact that he eats up innings and wins games?
Muggi
Kinda hard to eat innings and win games when you have little to no chance of getting on the mound. Wang’s not going to sign with Boston to be a bullpen arm.
jrollpatrol08
not since 07 he hasnt
fitz
At the time there was the assumption Clay would be dealt soon but since it appears the Sox are going to be keeping him around there really isn’t a spot for him barring an injury and the rotation should be great but like any team there are a lot of question marks (mainly with Beckett and Dice-K).
Jeff Chane
if he can prove his health out of the bullpen or wherever could be possible trade bait
Taskmaster75
He’d be more inclined to be a starter, not a bullpen guy. Who gets paid more, a comeback starter or a comeback reliever?
iwishihadaclue
How can the Mets go into this season and not acquire ONE STARTING PITCHER. Maine hasn’t been completely healthy or injury free in at least 2 or 3 seasons. Pelfrey had a down year and Ollie…well he’s the Jekyll & Hyde of baseball. How can ownership ignore this rotation all together. That is just unacceptable.
orioles
Orioles need to sign Wang. Tillman isn’t quite ready.
JMW4th
I wouldn’t mind the Nats taking a flyer on Wang. we still do need another Starting Pitcher, and I am hoping beyond hope that it is NOT Washburn. If Chien-Ming is fully recovered, he’d be a great boost to our pitching staff.
Make It So, Rizzo.
crazynatsfan
i dont get this why would rizzo hire wang he only gives ground balls and the nats were the werst team defensively last year but he could sure help them on the pitching side of things
JMW4th
Rizzo loves groundball pitchers. that’s why.
and that’s why he’s made a concerted effort to try and improve our up-the-middle defense as well.
myname_989
I’d like to see the Phils give him a shot, assuming he can keep his sinker down and comes on a Minor League deal with an invite, which I’m not sure will happen given the guaranteed dollars he wants…
jcmets4112
I’ve come to terms with the fact that the Mets are determined not to improve this offseason (other than Bay.) My only question is: why don’t they communicate that to the fans? They aren’t in a coma, they must see the growing rage we all have that nothing whatsoever is being done to better the team…why not come out and offer a public rationale for it? If they’re setting their sights on next offseason, say so! If they truly have detailed, plausible reasons for not pursuing Sheets, Wang, etc. – tell us what they are!
Someone will say “the Mets can’t do that! No one would renew their ticket package if they admitted their plan all along was to stand pat!” Maybe true, but it still makes them dishonest for saying they would be aggressive in improving.
markjsunz
They signed Jason Bay, there other players will be going to spring training healthy so so should expect improvement. Bay will give you 120 runs batted in. I would have expected the Red sox fans crying about his loss.I would think the Mets will be much improved. The mets are stuck with some big contracts and it has been reported the owner took a punch because of the Madoff scandal, so they is like alot of teams currently practicing some fiscal restraint.
jrollpatrol08
bay isnt going to have 120 rbis. you need guys on base in order to drive in runs. maybe, maybe on a good team he gets that much, but the mets offense is too weak to provide bay with that many rbi possibilities
markjsunz
Some of there guys are coming back from injury , Time will tell.
HalfSt
I really hope it is the Nats, but this web page has a way of not including Nats among the categories, even if they are one of the players. So, since MLBTR has ordained that the Nationals are not among those teams that might sign Wang, I guess I should give up hope.
Kolukonu
Wang would be a fantastic fit in St. Louis, with the expertise of Dr. Dave Duncan as his pitching coach.
Taskmaster75
Mr. Duncan will find a place for Wang.
jason
Wang would be a great fit, let Mr. Duncan work his magic but they have said in many articles they are done spending on arms looking to get a bat. So we shall see C’mon MO make it happen!!! Oh a Lopez and Relief signing would be nice also.
mookie_and_doc
When it comes to the Mets, I’ve already moved onto 2011. I don’t care who they sign, as long as they’re one-year deals that don’t hamstring future offseasons (like Castillo in 2007).
Emilio Lacques-Zapien
Dodgers really need Wang for depth. Playing for Torre again and in a pitchers ballpark as like a 4 starter would be ideal for Wang as well. The NL WEST will be the best division in the NL next yr come on Colleti…
metsfan2044
sammymakki.com/2010/02/breaking-news-mets-offer-ch…
sammy says the mets did make an offer to wang…
eedwards027
Pirates
BentoBox
Someone should grab Wang already.
Taskmaster75
GM’s don’t know if Wang is right for them.
Guest 1363
I love to see that my Nats are “aggressively pursuing” Wang.
BaseballFan0707
God damnit man, you stole my comment.
=p
gwrange
Dave Duncan is overrated by all you ‘tards who are dying for mlbtr “likes”. There I said it.
TimotheusATL
And just because you said it doesn’t make you right 😀
bbxxj
There are people dying for likes? Where is this happening and how can I send money for the relief efforts?
I think part of what makes Duncan good is that he with the FO find guys that he can fix/tweak but it’s not like he can make me a major leaguer.
dire straits
Haha, ballsy. Like bbxxj said, he may not be the “magician” everyone makes him out to be, but look at what he did for Pineiro’s career: 16MM! The guy is doing something right.
“Where is this happening and how can I send money for the relief efforts?”
That might be a little too insensitive.
darthbusey
I would let Dave Duncan date my 2 month old daughter. He’s dreamy.
There, I said it.
drumzalicious
Wang would be a great signing for the Nationals. They could prob contend a bit if they got him
jrollpatrol08
as soon as the yanks nontendered him, i thought the dodgers would have signed him within a week. low risk, high reward, for a team that has a contending offense but questions in the rotation…they didnt have ALOT of money this offseason i guess, but seemingly enough to convince wang to come play on a good team…especially given their lack of new acquisitions, really woulda thought LA to make a push. well, i guess the same can be said for NYM. cant quite figure out how both LA and NYM arent pursuing this guy.
im not gonna complain…i would love the phils to get some wang. apparently they are backing off because hes not gonna be ready by opening day. SO WHAT? some combination of kyle kendrick/jamie moyer as the 5th starter will be fine until the end of may. but if both of these options end up sucking, which is more than possible, then it would be kinda nice to have a little more depth in SP.
phils are prob gonna make one more move with the cash they have remaining. it could be a lefty bullpen option, but i think the 5th starter option would be a better investment. they should definitely give wang a chance. the guy is absolutely solid when healthy, and will do much better pitching out of the AL East
HoneyNutIchiro
I wonder if he’d consider Seattle? Pitcher’s park & a good defense would only help his value for 2011.
Plus, he has the same agent as Felix & Guti doesn’t he?
HalfSt
Great- the site lists the Nats under “Categories” now. My complaint had less to do with it than Ladson’s post, so let’s get one thing straight. This site is about “rumors”. I don’t want there to be links for the Mets or Dodgers if there is even a sniff of news for them, but a link for the Nats only if their MLB-hired reporter mentions them in connection with a player. If that is your standard for DC, I can content myself with reading the offical page, as opposed to looking at your site a dozen or more times a day.
This is MLB Trade Rumors. not “Big Market, Served a Thousand Other Ways to Sunday Rumors”.
dire straits
One less reader aint gonna hurt Tim’s revenue- or feelings for that matter.
HalfSt
I certainly can’t deny that, friend. But there is no need to perpetuate the fiction that the Mets’ interest in a player (for instance) is more consequential than the Nats’ interest. Some big-budget teams have signed few, and there is no reason to belittle the Nationals’ attempts to be players in the off-season by failing to file rumors in their category. Mike Rizzo has been spending time to build the team and its reputation, and it is exactly because this site is so well-regarded that the way they treat the team has some bearing on how fans see the lay of the land.
dire straits
I don’t think Tim meant to marginalize the Nationals intentionally. As you can see by the time on both posts, the Nationals’ rumor was posted an hour later. If you read Rosenthal’s piece, he was the one who emphasized the Mets’ and Dodgers’ interest in Wang; Tim just reposted it.
Taskmaster75
I would tend to believe you, but seeing Oakland rumors everywhere for Beltre and Sheets and Brewers rumors for Mulder seemingly every week, your case doesn’t hold water (Makes me want to see My Cousin Vinny right now)
Comment_and_Chill
Wang would be a great additions to the Nats. If he returns to top form he could really do something with them. He had 2 19 win seasons in the AL east. im pretty sure he can handle the NL East. Just dont have him run the bases lol 😀
rishathra
Right. Sign Mike Jacobs, fail to tender a contract to Wang. Heckofajob, Omar 🙁
darthbusey
It seems like EVERYDAY there are new teams “in” on this guy.
That Wang is really slippery.
Encarnacion's Parrot
It’s no secret the Mets should open up and embrace Wang. They just need to be reminded that they have to pay for his services.
Slide Wang into the 5-hole and see if he can still sinkerball.
There’s no end to the jokes.
Taskmaster75
I just hope he never gets signed just so I can keep reading them 🙂
phoenix88
i see him going with the Mets or Nats. Mets need pitching badly, werent most of the guys they used last season pretty unreliable? Nats could use him as a back of the rotation guy or a #3 behind Lannan and Marquis. wherever he signs though, that team better buy low but put in some incentives based on health
jason
Did you really just say “Nats could use him as a back of the rotation guy or a #3 behind Lannan and Marquis”? If you did get lucky and sign him he would definetly be your ACE, even with the injury problems!!! Lannan is at best a #4 on any other team and Marquis will have a nice first half and wear down like he has done every year and at his best he is a #3. If your telling me that Lannan and Marquis are better than Wang your just plain dumb!!!
WARLORD1863
Wang won’t be ready until late may at the earliest. Best bet is a June appearance. He won’t be anybody’s ace anytime soon. And let’s not forget the ace-in-waiting is their top pick, Stephen Strasburg.
Even when Wang returns to the mound he’s going to have a shaky start. No way he makes ace anywhere he goes, not even for the Nats.
WARLORD1863
Wang won’t be ready until late may at the earliest. Best bet is a June appearance. He won’t be anybody’s ace anytime soon. And let’s not forget the ace-in-waiting is their top pick, Stephen Strasburg.
Even when Wang returns to the mound he’s going to have a shaky start. No way he makes ace anywhere he goes, not even for the Nats.
rockiesfan_303
O’s or Nats. If he pans out, what a great signing.