Taiwanese pairing possible at Tigers

INFIELD DUO: Cheng Tsung-che has a long road ahead to match Lee Hao-yu’s MLB hitting records, while a dispute over a salary cap plan might postpone the schedule

• Staff writer, with CNA and AP, NEW YORK

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Cheng Tsung-che of Taiwan has been traded to the Detroit Tigers, raising the possibility of an all-Taiwanese middle-infield pairing in next year’s MLB season, although a player strike is threatening to disrupt the calendar.

The Boston Red Sox traded Cheng to Detroit on Thursday, a transaction log on the MLB Web site showed.

The Red Sox received cash considerations in return, US media reported.

The Detroit Tigers’ Lee Hao-yu of Taiwan reacts during their MLB game against the Washington Nationals at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan, on Sept. 22.

Photo: AFP

Cheng would join infielder Lee Hao-yu of Taiwan on the Tigers roster, but while Lee established himself as a legitimate major league hitter this year, Cheng still has to prove himself.

The 25-year-old made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates in April last year, but only had seven at-bats with the team during the season, going hitless.

He had a longer opportunity with Boston this year, hitting .256 with 10 hits and five RBIs in 14 games.

The Boston Red Sox’s Cheng Tsung-che of Taiwan watches the ball fly after a hit during their MLB game against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field in Chicago on July 8.

Photo: Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images via Rueters

During that stint, Cheng helped Boston match their franchise record of 15 consecutive victories, first set in 1946, making the final defensive plays in the 14th and 15th wins.

However, Cheng spent most of the season with Triple-A Worcester, where he hit .241 with eight home runs, improving from a .209 average and one homer with Indianapolis last year.

Primarily a shortstop, Cheng could play alongside Lee, who split his time between second base and third base for Detroit this year.

Lee, 23, finished his rookie MLB season this year with a .264 batting average, 87 hits, 10 home runs and 46 RBIs in 114 games. His hits, home runs, RBIs and appearances all set Taiwanese single-season MLB records.

In earlier interviews with the Central News Agency, Taiwanese broadcasters Martin Lin and Jacky Lee said that Lee Hao-yu’s hitting had strengthened his claim to regular playing time, but he still needed to improve defensively.

Lin expected Detroit to give him substantial opportunities next spring, identifying him as the club’s first option at second base.

However, action on the field might be delayed, with the Milwaukee Brewers’ World Series triumph possibly the last MLB game for a long time.

While just 148 days remain until the scheduled start of next season on March 24, owners have proposed a salary cap for the first time since their 1994 plan led to a seven-and-a-half month strike and the first cancelation of the World Series in 90 years.

“Obviously, you’d love to see the game be in a good spot and continue to be played,” Milwaukee captain Christian Yelich said on Wednesday.

“I think the game’s in a great spot right now with a lot of people tuned in, a lot of popularity, a lot of great players out there. It would obviously be a shame if we miss time, but we’ll have plenty of time this off-season to talk about it,” Yelich added.

MLB’s five-year labor contract, agreed to in March 2022 on the 99th day of a management lockout, expires on Dec. 1.

MLB is likely to lock out players again as soon as the deal expires. That could create another free-agent frenzy ahead of the expiration.

While the sides have been negotiating since May, there is no common ground on the primary economic issues.

Management wants a cap and a floor that would cut down disparity in payrolls along with restricting a player to at most 15 percent of his team’s payroll.

Players want expanded free agency and salary arbitration rights along with almost doubling the major-league minimum, increasing the money high-revenue teams share with the less-wealthy clubs and imposing a tax on teams that fail to keep their payrolls at a certain level.