But I am getting a strong vibe from Yankee officials that the intention is to non-tender Wang and, perhaps, not even offer him a small base with incentives to return.This would be an odd way for the Yankees to handle this. Unless he can't pitch anymore physically I see no harm in offering him a short-term incentive based deal. And with the question marks at the end of their rotation, it's probably the wiser move.
First, the Yankees will not make a decision based on Dr. Andrews' evaluation. They will wait to see what their own team physicians say.
And the Yanks will be very cautious with Wang. The success rate of pitchers returning at a high level after shoulder surgery is far lower than from elbow surgery. Plus, the Yankees always thought Wang was working on a narrow margin of error: He was essentially a one-pitch pitcher who got away with not missing any bats by having a 95 mph sinker that hitters routinely smashed into the grounder. They saw what he looked like when he lost some of that velocity this year, and it was not good. They cannot be positive he will regain all of his velocity. And the Yanks wonder if Wang has the ability to further refine his slider and changeup to become more of a complete pitcher.
If they don’t think Wang could enhance his repertoire than the Yanks may be motivated to pass on Wang at any price.
Thoughts?
