Taiwanese Media: Wang Yencheng Missed Match Against Korea Due to Hanwha's Release Conditions

Taiwanese media reported that the reason the Taiwanese baseball team did not start Wang Yencheng (Hanwha Eagles) in the group stage match against South Korea at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was due to release conditions set by his club, Hanwha.

Taiwanese media outlets such as TVBS reported on September 20 that "there are restrictions set by his club regarding Wang Yencheng's participation in the tournament," adding that "Manager Tang Teng-kai had to carefully consider how to utilize Wang Yencheng, and ultimately selected Lin Yi-wei, whom South Korean hitters have never faced before, as the starter."

It was confirmed that Hanwha negotiated and agreed with the Taiwanese national team on the conditions for releasing Wang Yencheng ahead of this tournament.

This fact had not been made public until the Taiwanese national team mentioned the details on September 20, bringing it to light belatedly.

An official from the Hanwha club explained in a phone call with Yonhap News on September 21, "Major League Baseball clubs negotiate various conditions with national teams to protect players and maintain team strength when overseas players participate in major international events like the Asian Games. Our club also discussed Wang Yencheng's release with the Taiwanese national team and reached an agreement."

The official added, "The club set up several options and proposed them to the Taiwanese national team, and the Taiwanese team chose one of them."

However, specific details of the agreement, such as the number of games played or innings pitched, were not disclosed.

Hanwha explained, "Wang Yencheng is participating in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games under conditions similar to other players from the Taiwanese national team playing in the U.S. minor leagues."

Wang Yencheng was originally expected to start in the Group B match against South Korea at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, scheduled to be held at 6:30 p.m. on September 21 at the Okazaki Chuo Sogo Park Baseball Stadium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Local media outlets had also anticipated a high likelihood of Wang's appearance.

This was due to physical fatigue concerns, as Lin Yu-min, a minor league left-handed pitcher who pitched well against South Korea at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, was scheduled to join the team in Japan on September 19.

However, the Taiwanese national team announced on September 20 that 20-year-old right-handed young gun Lin Yi-wei, who plays for the semi-professional corporate team Cooperative Bank, would be the starting pitcher against South Korea.

Some Taiwanese media outlets raised the possibility that pre-agreed release conditions between the Hanwha club and the Taiwanese national team influenced the decision to select Lin Yi-wei as the starter instead of Wang Yencheng.

Wang Yencheng has played a key role as a mainstay in Hanwha's starting rotation this season, making 26 appearances with an 11-6 record and a 3.97 ERA.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.