Former Indian Chen to pitch for China in World Baseball Classic

Former Indian Chen to pitch for China in World Baseball Classic

GOODYEAR, ARIZ.

Nearly two years after he retired from baseball, left-hander Bruce Chen is getting ready to pitch for China in the World Baseball Classic.

The 39-year-old Chen retired after the Cleveland Indians designated him for assignment on May 15, 2015, and none of the other teams claimed him off waivers. When the team from China reached out to him late last year, Chen wondered if it was looking for a pitching coach.

“Two days later, they told me they wanted me to pitch,” Chen said on Wednesday.

Chen pitched in the majors for 17 years, going 82-81 with a 4.68 ERA. He played for the Braves, Phillies, Mets, Expos, Reds, Astros, Red Sox, Orioles, Rangers, Royals and Indians. He started two games for Cleveland in 2015 and went 0-1, giving up nine runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Pirates and Tony Watson $400K apart in arbitration

st. petersburg fla.

Reliever Tony Watson has gone to arbitration with the Pittsburgh Pirates, asking for a raise from $3.45 million to $6 million.

Pittsburgh argued during Wednesday’s hearing he should be paid $5.6 million, A decision by arbitrators Gil Vernon, Jeanne Wood and Steven Wolf is likely Thursday.

A 31-year-old left-hander, Watson had a 3.06 ERA in 70 relief appearances for the Pirates last year along with a 2-5 record. He was an All-Star in 2014, when he was 10-2 with a 1.63 ERA, and he had a 1.91 ERA in 2015.

Watson is eligible for free agency after this season.

Dodgers sign longtime Giants reliever Sergio Romo

glendale, ariz.

Reliever Sergio Romo officially signed a $3 million, one-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday after nine seasons with the archrival San Francisco Giants.

Romo’s deal includes $250,000 in performance bonuses, with $125,000 each for appearing in 50 and 60 games. He is likely to be the Dodgers’ setup man for closer Kenley Jansen.

The right-hander with a nasty slider has been the NL’s busiest reliever since his big-league debut in 2008, appearing in 515 games for the Giants.

He is 32-26 with a 2.58 ERA and 84 saves while winning three World Series titles in San Francisco.

Royals finalize deal with former-Cub Travis Wood

kansas city, mo.

The 30-year-old left-hander and the Royals finalized a $12 million, two-year contract Wednesday. Coming off a World Series title with the Chicago Cubs, Wood hopes to earn a starting slot in a rotation shaken by the death of Yordano Ventura in a car accident.

“He’s a winner,” general manager Dayton Moore said. “That’s what attracted us to Travis. We like the depth of our rotation. You can never have enough experience, enough depth, enough guys that will take the ball to do whatever they have to do to get people out. Travis Wood gives us an opportunity to do that, match up better.”

Wood gets $4 million this year and $6.5 million in 2018, and the agreement includes and $8.5 mutual option for 2019 with a $1.5 million buyout.

He was 4-0 with a 2.95 ERA in a career-high 77 appearances with the Chicago Cubs last season, holding lefties to a .128 average.

Associated Press