Tsao Finalizes One Year Deal With Dodgers
By Michael Williams (3/8/2007)
Los Angeles Dodgers and Chin-hui Tsao have agreed to a one year contract. Tsao is a Taiwanese right-hander and played for the Colorado Rockies. Unfortunately, his brief stint with the Rockies was beset by arm injuries.
On January 18, 2007, Dodgers and Tsao agreed to the terms and conditions of the contract and he was added to the Dodgers’ 40 man roster. However, the physical is still pending. Tsao will receive $425,000 if he is in the major leagues and $125,000 should he play in the minor leagues.
Tsao has been facing a lot of arm injuries and has been having many surgeries to rectify the injuries. Tsao is 25 years old and has not pitched in a game since May 2005 when he underwent a surgery to repair a torn labrum. He had another surgery in 2001 to replace the damaged elbow ligament. Besides these injuries, Tsao has biceps tendon and hamstring problems.
In 1999, Colorado Rockies signed Tsao for $2.2 million. From 2003 to 2005, he was 4-3 with 5.80 ERA and 4 saves. He has a 29-20 and 2.74 ERA in the minor leagues. Besides this, Tsao pitched for Taiwan in the 2004 Olympics. Tsao became the first Taiwanese pitcher to appear in the major league when he won his first game against Milwaukee in July 2003.
According to Ned Colletti, Dodgers’ general manager, Tsao was one of the promising young relievers in baseball until recently. Colletti said that Tsao has been through some tough injuries but he is still young to make it through. The Dodgers are excited about getting Tsao to attend the spring training and competing for a spot on the roster. They want to see what Tsao is capable of when he is healthy and fit. |