Pitcher Chien-Ming Wang sets sights on return to big time in US

Wang, who pitched 12 scoreless innings in two World Baseball Classic (WBC) games against Australia and Japan on March 2 and March 8, respectively, talked about his future hopes after returning home from Tokyo, where Taiwan was ousted from the tournament on Saturday.

Local media reports said Wang's outstanding performance in the WBC's first and second rounds impressed Japanese baseball scouts and that some of the country's professional baseball teams are interested in signing him.

The reports speculated that Wang had postponed his return to Taipei from Sunday to Monday in order to talk with interested Japanese baseball teams.

Wang, who became a free agent after the Washington Nationals failed to tender him at the end of the 2012 MLB season, denied the reports, saying he had remained in Tokyo an additional day simply for “sightseeing around the city.”

“It's only speculation that Japanese baseball teams intend to sign me,” Wang said, adding that there had not been any formal contacts between him and Japanese baseball figures during his stay there.

At the moment, the 32-year-old right-hander said, returning to the major leagues remains his top priority.

Wang, who won 19 games for the New York Yankees in both 2006 and 2007 and finished second in the 2006 American League Cy Young race, said he will stay in Taiwan for a few more days before returning to his home in Florida.

“I'll continue training on my own in Florida,” Wang said, adding that he would be pleased to play for any MLB team that wanted him.

Wang said he did not know if he had received any offers from MLB teams because all contract issues were being handled by his agent.

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