Yankees pursuing Taiwanese shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin
ByVia Taiwan Baseball, the Yankees are after 16-year-old Taiwanese shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin. They had originally agreed to sign him for $350k back in 2010, but the deal fell apart because he was too young to turn pro at the time. Bidding is expected to approach $2M this time around. “For sure we will make an offer that is higher than the current offers to get him to join the Yankees,” said Ken Su, the team’s scout in Taiwan. “Our organization has given instructions to get (Lin) at any cost.”
MLB.com recently ranked Lin as the 18th best international free agent on the market, noting that he’s a burner from the left side of the plate with little present power but a strong arm and solid defensive skills. He’s listed at 5-foot-8 and 160 lbs., so c’mon growth spurt. It’s worth noting that Lin will be subject to the spending restrictions implemented by the new Collective Bargaining Agreement come July 2nd, so expect him to sign before then. The Yankees are a very popular team in Taiwan thanks to the success of Chien-Ming Wang, and that can only help their pursuit of Lin and other prospects.
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Nice! get it done.
My 11 month-old seems to be grasping objects more with his left hand and would not count against the international cap.
yeah, but where’s his V-Lo sitting?
His command seems a bit off. When he tries to roll a ball back to me, it tends to miss, at times, by a wide margin. Definitely some AJ in him.
He might just need a personal catcher.
Does he know his way around a creampie?
Great, we’ll sign him to a 18 year, $12 million deal. He’ll only have to pitch a few innings in the playoffs (marte) or not at all (feliciano). Sorry, no meal or travel money.
Teach him a slider.
Linsanity
Let’s hope he’s better that a backup.
Oh no you di-int
Dang it! I was gonna say that.
Thank you! I thought nobody else say it!
Nice negotiating style Mr. Su. The “at any cost” leading with your chin statement is sure going to make the Yankee front office/owners thrilled.
Isn’t that the edict they were given by the folks at Goldman when negotiating the A Rod contract for / through YES?
It sure worked out that way but even Goldman knows to keep it under your hat even if those are the marching orders.
He just read a statement written by Randy Levine.
LMAO
I’d laugh if it wasn’t probably true. The man is a real nimrod.
So he was only 14 when the Yankees first tried to sign him?
I also question if Ken Su should be advertising that the Yankees have told the organization to sign Lin at any cost.
That said, sign him!
I think he is actually 18 now… It seems like he was 16 when the Yankees signed him in 2010.
MLB.com has a 1995 (!) birthday listed.
Shit, he’s younger than my daughter. Guess her chances of an MLB career are shot.
Don’t give up the dream.
He was 16 in 2010, and he is still 16 today. It’s an amazing world.
The Yankees must have their crystal ball repaired because the future must be bright and clear with the 5’8”, 160lb. player. Who has good speed and defensive skills. I’m sure there are a few thousand of these kids available in the states. I hope that they check out the mother and father for any growth spurt possibilities.
5’8″, 160 lbs is still in Pedrioa territory, aint it?
just sayin
Can a Taiwanese player be “gritty”?
He could be bucketfuls of gritty.
He can’t impact whether he grows any taller, but you have to expect he’ll fill out at least a bit from 16 years old on. He’s at Pedroia’s listed weight already.
I’m not too worried about the height of a middle IF. Rollins and Furcal are listed 5’8″ too. Ray Durham was as well. Knoblauch was listed 5’9″ and so was Eric Young. Joe Morgan was 5’7″. Puckett (not a IF, obviously) was 5’8″. Rizzuto was 5’6″.
I would guess that the majority of middle IFs might still be under 6’0″.
it’s a misprint – he’s really 6’8″
5’8″ 160 is pretty big for a 16 year old.
My boy just turned 16 yesterday…6′-2″, 180. FWIW
Sign him now! He’s sure to add power as he grows into that frame. And if he’s lefty ….
Switch at the dish, throws right.
He first reached for stuff with the left hand but went righty on us somehow.
my son also just turned 16, and he’s 6′ 220 lbs. Luckily, he can shoot a basketball, cause he can’t hit a baseball worth a lick.
There’s the whole playing baseball thing besides just looking pretty in your uniform.
As long as he doesn’t end up in the hands of this guy
Maybe the Yanks are trying to get the next Ichiro. Fast, not great power, great defense.
Interesting to see if he makes contact at an absurd rate or something.
Wonder if this means they will not be pursuing Soler if they are gonna go all out for this kid
The problem with Soler is you don’t know when/if he’ll become eligible to sign.
Every scouting report says he is far better than 18th in the top international prospects in this market. I hope we are still in it on Cabrera and Torrens as well. We could have a really nice haul. I wish Soler would get posted soon.
Last time they scouted a skinny high school shortstop it seemed to work out quite nicely for the club for 17 seasons (and still counting). Let’s hope lightning strikes twice!
disclaimer: I know they have scouted many shortstops since and they’re not exactly the heirs apparent at this point. Simply reflecting on Jeter’s tenure and hoping for a great successor.
Gotta love the Taiwan Baseball site. They have a pitcher there that throws 150!
(kph)
Skinny, foreign 16 yr old? Sign me up.
Isn’t that illegal?
Surely my negative scouting reports on Cito leading to this move…
Sounds like he is a little insurance in case CC Culver does not pan out.
go get him…this is the Yanks answer to superstar Jose Iglesias!
This is Linsane. I mean we need an infielder… But if he is younger than Bryce Harper we’ve got some waiting to do.
It sounds like this SS is another Brett; Both hit left handed, both are very good on defense and both are very fast.
Put a couple of guys like that on a team that has 2-3 mashers and you have a formula for a winning team.
He is 18 yrs old.
He is actually born on 2/15/1994 in chinese taipei(Taiwan) baseball association database.