4 CPBL Players Declared Free Agency

On October 30, the CPBL published a list of 32 players who have accumulated enough service time to be eligible for free agency. By November 11, the league announced that four of those players had officially declared for free agency for the 2024 offseason:

  • CTBC Brothers – 詹子賢 (Chan Tzu-Hsien)
  • CTBC Brothers – 陳子豪 (Chen Tzu-Hao)
  • Uni-Lions – 陳韻文 (Chen Yun-Wen)
  • Rakuten Monkeys – 朱育賢 (Chu Yu-Hsien)

2024 Free Agency News Tracker

As always, I will try to do my best to keep all the free agency news here, and will only cover the four players who filed for free agency. [Last Updated: November 28, 2024]

  • November 1 – CTBC Brothers’ Chan Tzu-Hsien filed for free agency.
  • November 5 – CTBC Brothers’ Chen Tzu-Hao filed for free agency.
  • November 8 – Uni-Lions’ Chen Yun-Wen filed for free agency.
  • November 11 – Rakuten Monkeys’ Chu Yu-Hsien filed for free agency.
  • November 12 – 3 unnamed CPBL teams are interested in Chu Yu-Hsien. [Liberty Sports]
  • November 12 – Wei Chuan Dragons GM revealed that they will review and do their best to pursue all the free agents this offseason, but stressed that they have no intention for getting into a bidding war. [Liberty Sports]
  • November 13 – Rakuten Monkeys GM said that he will do everything he can to re-sign Chu Yu-Hsien. The Monkeys reportedly offered Chu a 3-year deal worth 1.02 million USD, but Chu rejected that offer. [Liberty Sports]
  • November 17 – Fubon Sports & Entertainment GM said they have reached out to free agents Chen Tzu-Hao, Chu Yu-Hsien, and Chan Tzu-Hsien, the team’s priority is to sign hitters from the free agent market. [TSNA]
  • November 25 – TSG Hawks GM said they have reached out to free agents Chen Tzu-Hao, Chu Yu-Hsien, Chan Tzu-Hsien and Chen Yun-Wen, the team is hoping to sign at least 1 player from the free agent market. [TSNA]
  • November 28 – Multiple teams are reportedly targeting free agent Chen Tzu-Hao and are likely to offer a substantial 5-year contract to him. An unnamed northern team is most active in pursuing Chen, while an unnamed southern team has pulled out of the bidding war. [ETtoday]
  • November 28 – Unnamed southern team have reportedly offered free agent Chan Tzu-Hsien a deal of more than 3 years. [Broadcaster Wang Yi-Hsuan]

How CPBL Free Agency Works

According to CPBL regulations, players with nine years of service are eligible to file for free agency (eight years if they studied four years in university).

Players are classified into Class A and Class B based on their annual salary, each with a different method of calculating the transfer fee.

  • Class A: Each team’s top 12 players based on their annual salary. The transfer fee (compensation) can either be 125% of the player’s annual salary or 75% of the salary, along with an additional player outside the other team’s protection list.
  • Class B: All the players outside of the top 12. The transfer fee (compensation) is a lot more straightforward. It is just 75% of the player’s salary.

Sounds confusing? Don’t worry. Here are some examples of how Classic A transfer works.

When Team A signs a free agent from Team B, Team A must submit their protection list to Team B. Upon receiving the list, Team B will then decide on the transfer fee/compensation method.

  • Method 1: Team A pays 125% of the player’s annual salary to Team B.
  • Method 2: Team A pays 75% of the player’s salary to Team B as the transfer fee. Additionally, Team B gets to select one extra player outside Team A’s protection list as compensation.

詹子賢 (Chan Tzu-Hsien)

Chan Tzu-Hsien has been a core hitter in the Brothers’ lineup, known for his plate discipline (high BB%) and occasional power. In 2024, however, he gradually lost his everyday starting opportunities due to the Brothers’ insanely stacked outfield depth, finishing the season with a relatively low 99 wRC+ by his career standards.

Who should sign him? While the Brothers may consider shifting Chan Tzu-Hsien into a fourth outfielder role, he remains a capable hitter who could shine on a team lacking outfield depth and needing mid-range firepower. The Hawks, Dragons, and Guardians are potential fits.

  • FA Class: Class A
  • 2024 Team: CTBC Brothers
  • 2016-Present (9 seasons)
  • 30-year-old outfielder.
  • 2024 salary: $252,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 1: $315,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 2: $189,000 (USD) + 1 Player
  • Current Status: N/A

陳子豪 (Chen Tzu-Hao)

Nicknamed “Taiwanese Bryce Harper,” Chen Tzu-Hao is known for his impressive raw power and clutch hitting. He is one of those players who is hardly affected by the CPBL’s de-juiced ball. Chen is coming off perhaps the best seasons in his career, where he slashed .276/.355/.515 with 17 home runs and a 152 wRC+.

Who should sign him? Given Chen’s age (29) and power-hitting ability, he will likely be on every CPBL team’s radar and should land a mega contract. He’s one of the league’s most dangerous hitters, making him an extremely valuable signing with absolutely zero downside.

  • FA Class: Class A
  • 2024 Team: CTBC Brothers
  • 2013-Present (12 seasons)
  • 29-year-old outfielder
  • 2024 salary: $240,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 1: $300,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 2: $180,000 (USD) + 1 Player
  • Current Status: N/A

陳韻文 (Chen Yun-Wen)

Chen Yun-Wen, the CPBL’s all-time saves leader with 154, has been the Uni-Lions’ go-to reliever throughout his career. He primarily relies on his fastball, cutter and splitter. While his BB% is not the best due to occasional command issues, he compensates with a high K%. Chen struggled during most of the 2024 season, but he eventually got his acts together towards the end of the season and performed exceptionally well in the postseason. In over five postseason relief appearances, he logged five scoreless innings, gave up two hits, issued no walk and struck out seven.

Who should sign him? Good, reliable relievers are highly sought after in any league, and the CPBL is no exception. Any team that signs Chen Yun-Wen will immediately strengthen its bullpen while weakening the Uni-Lions’. This signing would be beneficial for any CPBL roster.

  • FA Class: Class A
  • 2024 Team: Uni-Lions
  • 2015-Present (10 seasons)
  • 28-year-old right-handed reliever
  • 2024 salary: $240,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 1: $300,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 2: $180,000 (USD) + 1 Player
  • Current Status: N/A

朱育賢 (Chu Yu-Hsien)

Since his debut in 2016, Chu Yu-Hsien has been the pillar of the Monkeys offence, posting solid results year after year in a robotic fashion. He is one of those hitters who doesn’t worry too much about his high K% and high Whiff%, just purely focusing on hitting the ball as hard as possible. He finished the 2024 season with a 124 wRC+.

Who should sign him? Teams that are looking to add more power at first base or in left field. Chu Yu-Hsien would be able to offer protection to that team’s best hitter by hitting behind them in the lineup. The Hawks, Dragons, and Guardians would be an ideal fit.

Hawks need someone to protect Steven Moya, Dragons need someone to protect Giljegiljaw Kungkuan, and Guardians need someone to protect Chang Yu-Cheng.

  • FA Class: Class A
  • 2024 Team: Rakuten Monkeys
  • 2016-Present (9 seasons)
  • 32-year-old outfielder, 1st baseman
  • 2024 salary: $300,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 1: $375,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 2: $225,000 (USD) + 1 Player
  • Current Status: N/A

What I Think: Which Player Should Be the Priority?

Despite all CPBL teams being backed by exceptionally wealthy parent companies, it doesn’t mean their “social charity” baseball teams can operate with unlimited budgets.

So, assuming each team only has limited funding to sign one free agent this offseason, here’s my take on the top priorities. Just think of it as a free-agent signing flowchart.

First, decide whether your team needs to bolster its pitching or strengthen its hitting lineup. If pitching is the focus, the choice is straightforward: throw everything you’ve got at signing Chen Yun-Wen.

If hitting is the way to go, the signing hierarchy should be Chen Tzu-Hao as the top target, followed closely by Chu Yu-Hsien and then Chan Tzu-Hsien.

Here’s my unique 6-mango rating system for the four free agents. 3 mangos means an average rating.

  1. Chen Tzu-Hao: 🥭🥭🥭🥭🥭🥭
  2. Chu Yu-Hsien: 🥭🥭🥭🥭🥭
  3. Chen Yun-Wen: 🥭🥭🥭🥭🥭
  4. Chan Tzu-Hsien: 🥭🥭🥭🥭

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