Yankees release Wang

Many baseball analysts and fans said they were not surprised by the Yankees' decision, but many others said the Yankees should not have let Wang, a two-time 19-game winner, go.

Wang's agent said the right-hand pitcher now has the option of engaging all 30 clubs as a free agent and taking all other possibilities into consideration.

“There's no doubt that we had to make a tough decision,” said Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

“We are still hopeful that our relationship can continue, but those decisions are yet to be made,” he said.

The Yankees could re-sign Wang to a lesser, incentive-based deal, as many have speculated they will attempt to do.

“We're disappointed. We'll obviously consider all offers as a free agent, as all free agents do,” said Wang's agent, Alan Nero.

Commenting on the Yankees' hope of maintaining a relationship with Wang, Nero said, “It's difficult to rationalize a non-tender as further building a bridge with a team, but we'll see.”

A senior executive covering the Asia-Pacific market at Nero's firm said despite the Yankees' latest decision, the team still hopes that Wang would eventually choose the Yankees over other teams.

He said the final outcome will hinge on the concrete terms in the contract that may be offered by the Yankees.

The pitcher from Taiwan has spent nine seasons with the Yankees since 2000.

Wang, who will turn 30 in March, earned US$5 million this season, becoming the highest paid Taiwanese player in any U.S. professional sport, but he could only manage a 1-6 record and 9.64 ERA in 12 appearances last season during which the Yankees captured the World Series Championship.

Wang has been hampered since injuring his foot while running the bases in a game in Houston on June 15, 2008. The injury forced him to miss the rest of that season, and he was obviously not fully recovered at the start of 2009.

After three disastrous starts, he was sent to the farm league to continue his rehabilitation. He then returned to the Yankees in late May and seemed to be making progress until he injured his right shoulder.

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