3 Players Declared Free Agency in 2025 Offseason

On October 29, the CPBL released a list of 35 players who have accumulated enough service time to be eligible for free agency. Over the next few days, 3 of them had officially declared for free agency ahead of the 2025 offseason.

2025 Free Agency News Tracker

As always, I’ll do my best to keep all the free agency news updated here, focusing specifically on the 3 players who have filed for free agency. [Last Updated: December 12, 2025] WORK IN PROGRESS

  • November 4 – Huang Tzu-Peng filed for free agency. [CPBL]
  • November 4 – Rakuten Monkeys’ assistant GM expressed they want to re-sign Huang Tzu-Peng, offering a 3+ years deal. [Team Statement]
  • November 4 – Rakuten Monkeys reportedly offer Huang Tzu-Peng a 4-year deal. [Go Baseball]
  • November 5 – Su Chih-Chieh filed for free agency. [CPBL]
  • November 5 – Lin Dai-An filed for free agency. [CPBL]
  • November 5 – Uni-Lions GM expressed they want to re-sign both Su Chih-Chieh and Lin Dai-An. The team have offered multi-year deals. [Team Statement]
  • November 11 – TSG Hawks GM revealed they have offered a contract to Huang Tzu-Peng. [Liberty Sports]
  • November 12 – Rakuten Monkeys have offered a 4-year deal worth roughly 1.67 million USD to re-sign Huang Tzu-Peng. [Liberty Sports]
  • November 12 – TSG Hawks have offered a 5-year deal worth roughly 2 million USD to Huang Tzu-Peng. [Go Baseball]
  • November 13 – Lin Dai-An has received 3 offers from other teams in the CPBL, Lin’s agency says they are hoping to make a decision next week. [Liberty Sports]
  • November 14 – Guardians, Brothers and Hawks are pursuing Lin Dai-An. According to Lin’s agent, their main focus is the duration of the contract, hoping to get more than 5 years. [TSNA]
  • November 21 – 4 teams have offered a 5-year deal to Lin Dai-An. [SET News]
  • November 21 – Hawks announced the signing of Huang Tzu-Peng to a 5-year deal worth 2.2 million USD. [Team Statement]
  • November 24 – Guardians are the front runner to sign Lin Dai-An. The catcher is likely to receive a 5-year deal with an annual salary around 200,000 USD. [Wang Yi-Hsuan]
  • December 4 – Rakuten Monkeys will receive 350,000 USD from TSG Hawks as the transfer fee of Huang Tzu-Peng. [Team Statement]
  • December 5 – Guardians have offered a 7-year deal to Lin Dai-An. [Liberty Sports]
  • December 5 – Guardians announced the signing of Lin Dai-An to a 7-year deal worth 1.87 million USD. [Team Statement]
  • December 6 – Uni-Lions have offered a 4-year deal worth roughly 1.12 million USD to Su Chih-Chieh. [Liberty Sports]
  • December 12 – Uni-Lions announced the signing of Su Chih-Chieh to a 4-year deal worth 1.12 million USD. [Team Statement]

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.

黃子鵬 (Huang Tzu-Peng) – SIGNED by Hawks

The submarine pitcher Huang Tzu-Peng has been a key member of the Monkeys’ starting rotation since 2021. Over the years, he has consistently provided significant innings, typically ranging from 100 to 150 innings per season. While Huang is a soft-tossing pitcher and doesn’t have the highest strikeout rate, he makes up for it by inducing a lot of balls in play. Another factor to consider is that, in the CPBL, there is a shortage of domestic starting pitchers who are consistently healthy, can log a lot of innings, and still post respectable numbers.

Who should sign him? Essentially, any team in need of a reliable domestic starting pitcher for the next 4-5 years, well, that’s basically every team. This is especially true with the league considering an increase in the number of games per season and the potential shift from a half-season format to a full season in the near future.

  • FA Class: Class A
  • 2025 Team: Rakuten Monkeys
  • 2018-Present (8 seasons)
  • 31-year-old right-handed pitcher
  • 2025 salary: $280,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 1: $350,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 2: $210,000 (USD) + 1 Player
  • Current Status: Signed by TSG Hawks on a 5-year deal worth 2.20 million USD. The Monkeys will receive $350,000 as the transfer fee.

蘇智傑 (Su Chih-Chieh) – SIGNED by UNI-LIONS

Su Chih-Chieh has been a core member of the Uni-Lions lineup since 2016 and is widely regarded as one of the most well-rounded hitters in the league, with a strong combination of contact, power, and baserunning speed. If he can stay healthy, Su has the potential to be a top MVP contender. Unfortunately, due to a string of of injuries, including elbow bone spur surgery and a fractured toe, have limited his playing time in 2024-25.

Who should sign him? Any team looking to strengthen its lineup with a premium and consistent power hitter who still has plenty of gas left in the tank. The TSG Hawks, Wei Chuan Dragons, and Fubon Guardians would all benefit from signing Su Chih-Chieh.

  • FA Class: Class A
  • 2025 Team: Uni-Lions
  • 2016-Present (10 seasons)
  • 31-year-old outfielder.
  • 2025 salary: $252,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 1: $315,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 2: $189,000 (USD) + 1 Player
  • Current Status: Signed by the Uni-Lions on a 4-year deal worth 1.12 million USD.

林岱安 (Lin Dai-An) – SIGNED by Guardians

Lin Dai-An has been the Uni-Lions’ primary catcher since 2019, though the team has gradually reduced his workload in favour of other catching prospects over the years. Despite this, most of the younger catchers have been unable to fully take over the starting role. Lin isn’t known for his offensive production, with his wRC+ typically hovering around the 50-70 range and with his age, it is unlikely to see it go above average. However, he is a consistent presence behind the plate, plays well defensively and works well with foreign pitchers.

Who should sign him? Teams are in need of a reliable secondary catcher with plenty of experience to assist and share the workload of their younger primary catcher. A new expansion team like the TSG Hawks could be a good fit.

  • FA Class: Class A
  • 2025 Team: Uni-Lions
  • 2015-Present (11 seasons)
  • 33-year-old catcher
  • 2025 salary: $144,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 1: $180,000 (USD)
  • Transfer fee method 2: $108,000 (USD) + 1 Player
  • Current Status: Signed by the Guardians on a 7-year deal worth 1.87 million USD. The first five years as player, the final two years will based on player’s performance, can be both player or coach.

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