Tampa Bay Rays Sign Yu Chang
On February 20, the Tampa Bay Rays announced the signing of 28-year-old Taiwanese infielder Yu Chang (張育成) to a minor league deal with an invite to MLB spring training. Chang will return for his second tour of the Rays organisation, which he briefly played for during the 2022 season.
Yu Chang’s agency, ACES Inc Baseball, told CNA that more than 10 MLB teams have reached out to Yu Chang during the offseason. Kevin Cash, the Rays manager, personally recommended that the team make this signing, ultimately making the negotiation process smooth and uneventful.
Yu Chang’s 2024 Contract Details
As for the contract details, Yu Chang will reportedly receive a monthly salary of around 36,000 USD in the minor league. However, if Chang gets promoted to MLB this year, his annual salary will reach 1 million USD. On top of that, there are also some performance-based incentives up for grabs. The total bonus amount is said to be double what Chang had with the Red Sox back in the 2023 season.
Last year with the Boston Red Sox, Yu Chang mostly played as a shortstop, but he also demonstrated his ability to cover all the infield roles. Hitting-wise, he posted a disappointing .162/.200/.352 with 6 home runs over 39 games and 112 plate appearances.
Chang Enters CPBL Draft? 2024? 2025?
During the offseason, Yu Chang met with the senior management of the TSG Hawks and Fubon Guardians to discuss the possibility of returning to Taiwan and entering the 2024 CPBL draft.
According to TSNA, the Fubon Guardians, who have the overall first-pick position in the 2024 CPBL draft, reportedly offered Yu Chang a contract worth more than 67,000 USD per month (close to 800,000 USD per year). Ultimately, it would appear that Yu Chang would still like to continue to chase his MLB dream at this stage of his career.
It is also worth mentioning that, with the 2024 CPBL mid-season draft being held in July, there is technically still a possibility for Yu Chang to return to Taiwan and enter the draft.
A lot may depend on how much time he spends on the Rays’ major league roster between April 1st and the CPBL draft in July — he might decide to take Fubon’s guaranteed money if he’s stuck in AAA.
Yeah, the 2024 draft door is not fully closed yet. The Brother Elephants back in the day paid $50,000 to buyout Chen Hung-Wen’s contract from the Chicago Cubs, they drafted Chen as their first round pick.