Red Sox Are Set to Steal Tzu-Wei Lin From the Yankees

Reports from Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe state that the Red Sox are working on finalizing the agreement that would see the club sign 18-year-old Tawainese shortstop, Tzu-Wei Lin.  The deal is said to be for a Taiwan record $2.05MM bonus for a position player.

Two years ago when Lin was 16-years of age, the Yankees had a deal in place to sign him for what was described as a six figure salary, only to have the deal nixed after it was ruled invalid.

Lin is listed at 5-foot-8 and 160 lbs with great speed as a left-handed hitter.  The scouting report doesn’t have Lin with a lot of power but he does possess a strong arm and solid defensive skills.

The Yankees were again in the running for Lin this time around with instructions to “get Lin at any cost,” said Ken Su, the Yankees scout in Taiwan, courtesy of River Avenue Blues.  Su was also quoted as saying “For sure we will make an offer that is higher than the current offers to get him to join the Yankees.” Clearly that didn’t happen as the Red Sox got one back on the Yankees and snuck in and nabbed Lin from their arch rivals.

Just goes to show that the Yankees can’t always throw money at everyone that will cure all problems; a little Yankees arrogance as always.

Lin was ranked as the 18th best international free agent by MLB.com.  It is expected that Lin will sign a contract before July 2nd to avoid the new Collective Bargaining Agreement.