One day after making Dee Gordon's five-year contract extension official, the Miami Marlins announced the signing of left-hander Wei-Yin Chen. The two sides agreed to terms on a five-year, $80 million deal last week.
Miami will hold a press conference at 3:30 p.m. ET to introduce Chen and talk about the surprise signing. The Marlins typically don't lure players in with long-term lucrative deals, but the additions of Don Mattingly and Barry Bonds to the coaching staff as well as a healthy team heading into 2016 may have changed their mind.
OFFICIAL: We have agreed to a five-year contract with Wei-Yin Chen. Welcome to the #FishFamily, @WeiYinChen16! pic.twitter.com/OO41yKlbSv
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) January 19, 2016
What was even more surprising about the signing is that Chen is a client of agent Scott Boras, who the Marlins are not on good terms with. The two sides have gotten into public spats about the team's handling of Marcell Ozuna in 2015 as well as the future of starter Jose Fernandez. Perhaps Miami put aside those issues and focused on upgrading their rotation.
Chen will presumably serve as the team's No. 2 starter behind Fernandez.
At the time of the signing, Chen was arguably the best starter available in free agency. The left-hander went 11-8 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 153 strikeouts in 31 starts (191-1/3 innings) with the Baltimore Orioles last year. He owns a career 3.72 ERA in four MLB seasons (117 starts).
The Marlins have yet to disclose the exact financial terms of the contract, but it's been reported the 30-year-old will receive an opt-out clause after the second year of the deal. According to multiple reports, he'll get an $8 million signing bonus, earn $6 million in 2016 and $14 million in 2017, which makes it a minimal two-year, $28 million commitment. The rest of the breakdown has yet to be reported, but it's also known Chen has a vesting option for a sixth season that will kick in if he reaches 180 innings pitched in the fifth year or 360 innings pitched combined in the final two years of his deal, according to Jon Heyman.
Stay tuned for more details regarding Chen's contract after today's press conference.
