Mariners Ink Intriguing Foreign Prospect to Contract
The Seattle Mariners made an intriguing addition to their farm system by signing Taiwanese pitcher Chia-Shi Shen out of Kainan University in Taoyuan City, Taiwan on Tuesday.
There are no stats publicly available on Shen. But he is no stranger to negotiations with major league teams. He's not even a stranger to the American League West.
According to an article on cpblstats.com, Shen agreed to a contract with the Oakland Athletics back in November 2022, but the deal fell apart three months later. According to the same article, Shen had offers from at least four MLB before his agreement with the Athletics.
The article doesn't mention what team it was, but in 2022 he had an offer of $500,000 from an AL West club. He reportedly chose to forego that offer.
According to an article by the Taipei Times, the Mariners offered Shen a $250,000 deal after his deal with Oakland fell through, but a drunk driving incident in July 2023 forced Shen to remain in Taiwan.
Welcome to the @Mariners family!
— Mariners Player Development (@MsPlayerDev) July 9, 2024
We’ve signed 20-year-old RHP Chia-Shi Shen out of Taiwan. #TridentsUp pic.twitter.com/aWAA7nt0dz
The 20-year old has received notoriety for his high velocity fastball and his range of his pitch selection. He was throwing 95.1 miles per hour two years ago with a changeup, slider and curveball and was working on a vulcan-grip changeup as recently as two years ago.
There was no information available as of Tuesday of Shen's assignment or his contract details.
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