The Nationals finalized a one-year contract with right-hander Chien-Ming Wang on Thursday, pending a physical, according to a club source. It will be Wang’s third year with the organization, which was willing to pay him $3 million total on a pair of prior one-year deals to rehabilitate a serious right shoulder injury on the team’s dime. The Nats began to see some reward for their cash when Wang finally made it back to the big leagues July 29. He wasn’t exactly what we remembered with the New York Yankees from 2006 through early 2009. Wang’s vicious sinker doesn’t have that same mid-90s velocity anymore. But even in the low 90s it is still an effective pitch. Wang had a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts. At 31, it’s unrealistic to expect him to find some kind of wicked offspeed pitch to go with his sinker. That likely limits his ceiling. Still, his walks plus hits per inning pitched was 1.28 — basically what he produced with the Yankees — and he provides needed depth to the back end of Washington’s starting rotation.
– Brian McNally
