In baseball, they say you can never have too much pitching. The Yankees seem to be taking that to heart. According to George King of the New York Post, the New York plans on sending scouts to watch Chien Ming Wang pitch for Taiwan in the World Baseball Classic.
Billy Connors, who used to serve as a vital part in developing pitching within the organization for the last 20 plus years, recently had Wang over at his house to throw. Connors, now a spring training instructor, was impressed.
The Yankees currently have six pitchers for five spots. CC Sabathia, Hiroki Kuroda, Andy Pettitte and Phil Hughes are all pencilled into the rotation. David Phelps and Ivan Nova are the two main guys fighting for the fifth spot.
If Wang is 100% healthy and effective, the Yankees would love to have him. The Bombers would be able to keep him fresh in Triple A, and then call him up as insurance should a starter get hurt. However, Wang is said to be looking for a major league contract. According to King, Cashman has stated he hasn’t had any contact with Wang’s representatives.
Wang was the ace of the staff when he pitched for the Yankees from 2005-2009. However, his career took a turn for the worst after he suffered a devastating foot injury while running the bases in Houston. After tearing his lisfranc tendon, Wang missed the rest of ’08 and was never the same in ’09 after appearing in just six games. He missed all of 2010 with arm trouble, and returned to the majors in 2011 with the Nationals, where he pitched last year as well.
For his career with New York, Wang had a record of 55-26 with a 4.16 ERA. In two stellar years from ’06-’07, Wang went a combined 38-13 with a 3.67 ERA.
