Taiwanese pitcher Chen Wei-yin spurned a multiyear offer from Chunichi to sign a three-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, the Dragons said Tuesday.
Chen will hold a news conference in Nagoya next Tuesday to formally announce his move. The Dragons wished the 26-year-old lefty well after five seasons, during which he averaged a 2.59 ERA and won 36 games.
"It's the reason he came to Japan in the first place, to try to get a shot," Chunichi official Takashi Ide said. "It's great he's realized his dream."
According to the Baltimore Sun, Chen's deal with the Orioles is for three years and between $11 million and $12 million, pending passage of a physical.
This winter, Baltimore signed another southpaw from Japanese baseball in Tsuyoshi Wada, who made the jump from the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks for a two-year, $8.15 million deal.