(Photo by Reuters Pictures. Hello, Wang! There's Chien Ming Wang at a press conference in Taipei back in November. Something tells us the introductory presser in Viera on Friday will not include giant photos of Wang's head.)
So, earlier today, the worst kept secret in the history of secrets was confirmed: The Nationals agreed to a deal with Chien Ming Wang. Reportedly, it's a 1 year, $2 million, with the potential for another $3 million on top with incentives. The Nationals haven't confirmed anything yet, but according to Bill Ladson, they'll unveil Wang on Friday in Viera; although Stan Kasten won't say, well, um...dick, about Wang (via Nationals.com, 2/16/2010)
When reached by phone, Kasten declined to talk about Wang.
Sounds about right. Prepare for a long season of Wang jokes, NatsTown. That's about the only thing we're guaranteed with this signing. FJB notes:
The Nationals are paying Wang $2 million for this season, which could easily be just paying for the pleasure of overseeing his rehab.
No complaints from here. Rizzo took a flyer on him. If it works out, great...
On an unrelated note, we just can't shake this nagging feeling that beyond Lannan and Marquis, the starting rotation is set up for disaster. Again. But we're supposed to keep our eyes on 2011 now, right? Harper's post earlier this morning over at Nationals Baseball certainly didn't help us feel any better about 2010. We'll copy and paste out of laziness:
...the Nats continue to have a festering gaping hole starting in the middle of their rotation and continuing all the way through to the end. There is no safety net. A bad year by Lannan or Marquis, or a failure of anyone to develop, would lead to once again having a 14th, 15th, 16th best staff in the NL. For the sake of the fan's sanity, let's hope the Nats are lucky for once.
Pitchers and catchers report on Friday, and that's supposed to give us a sense of...hope or something. Maybe it's the giant mountains of dirty, frozen snow piled up all over DC at the moment, but we're just not feeling it. Even Dave Sheinin's piece on Strasburg from today's Washington Post again didn't do the trick.
Maybe we just need one of those light boxes.
Meanwhile...
- Jim Bowden always had a thing for Willy Taveras.
- It's Kilgore on the Nats Beat at the WaPo.
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