Free agent Wei-Yin Chen was said to be seeking a five-year, $85 million contract earlier in the offseason and that explains why big market teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are taking a look at him.
Rumors indicate Chen's market is strong, especially after David Price, Zack Greinke and Jordan Zimmermann signed their big deals.
Wei-Yin Chen said to have strong market; cards, giants, dodgers, maybe royals, nats, others
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 10, 2015
Heyman's latest report includes the Dodgers, who were not mentioned last night when he noted the Cardinals, Giants, Royals and Nats were among those interested in Chen. The Baltimore Orioles have been trying to retain the left-hander, but general manager Dan Duquette told Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun that he's "not sure the market will allow that."
Chen, 30, has spent his only four MLB seasons with the Orioles and is 46-32 with a 3.72 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 547 strikeouts in 117 career starts. His best season came in 2015 during which he maintained a 3.34 ERA over 31 starts in his contract year.
He's represented by agent Scott Boras, who will probably wait as long as possible to get Chen the largest possible contract on the market. Boras is seemingly doing the same with Chris Davis after reportedly receiving offers of $150 million and $168 million from the Orioles. Davis is reportedly seeking an eight-year, $200 million deal.
Boras could act in the same manner with Chen if the pitcher continues to garner interest from big market clubs in need of starting pitching. The price for starters is perhaps at an all-time high after two $200 million contracts were handed out this offseason, so Chen's success in the MLB could get him a nice payday.
And if Boras is going to compare Chen to Price and Tom Glavine - which he did yesterday - then we could be waiting a decent while before the left-hander signs a contract.
*The Royals and Nationals do remain possibilities, but Kansas City may not be able to afford Chen and Nats' general manager Mike Rizzo said the team's interest in a starter is "lukewarm." As a result, the Cardinals, Giants and Dodgers are seemingly the frontrunners do to their need and flexible payroll situations.
