NEW YORK // The New York Yankees continued to firm up their starting rotation by signing the pitcher Wang Chien-Ming to a one-year US$5 million (Dh18.3m) deal, the Major League Baseball team said. After signing the free agents CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett on huge contracts last week, the Yankees continued their spending spree by signing up Wang and avoiding salary arbitration. The Taiwanese right-hander was 8-2 with a 4.07 ERA for the New Yorkers last season despite spending the last half of the schedule on the injured list with an injured right foot.
Wang, 28, has won 38 games the past two seasons for the Yankees and finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting in 2006. His 54 career wins rank third among Asian-born pitchers and helped him become the third-fastest Major League pitcher in the last 50 years to reach 50 wins. *Reuters
