18-year-old pitcher Lai Chien-Fan joins New York Yankees, signing bonus estimated at $850,000

(CNA Taipei, June 24) "Lai Chien-Fan, welcome to the New York Yankees!" The Major League Baseball team, the Yankees, began their announcement of signing 18-year-old pitcher Lai Chien-Fan with this Chinese phrase, making him the third Taiwanese player in the team's history after Wang Chien-Ming and Kuo Fu-Lin. The signing bonus is estimated at $850,000.

Lai Chien-Fan graduated from Daxi High School and can throw a fastball up to 154 kilometers per hour. He was selected for the Taiwanese national team in last year's U18 Baseball World Cup, pitching 7 innings, striking out 14 batters with only 1 walk, and allowing just 1 run. According to MLB.com, the Yankees' signing bonus offer is estimated to be $850,000 (approximately NT$26.93 million).

The Yankees will hold a signing press conference in Taipei on June 26th, Taiwan time. Lai Chien-Fan will then report to the Dominican Summer League (DSL) academy, taking his first step into his professional career. Yankees International Scouting Director Mario Garza said in a team statement, "Signing Chien-Fan represents our renewed commitment to players from Taiwan and throughout the Asian region."

Garza also pointed out that from a scouting perspective, Lai Chien-Fan possesses an impressive mix of pitches, including a fastball with late life and quality breaking balls with command, making him confident that he can maximize his potential within the development system, "ultimately becoming a highly productive Major League pitcher." (Editor: Chang Ming-Kun) 1150624

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