Major League Baseball that is. Just a few days after the Yankees announced the signing of two players from China, the Mariners have done the same thing.
The Yankees got things started on Tuesday when they signed Kai Liu, a 19-year-old left-handed pitcher, and Zhenwang Zhang, a 19-year-old catcher, to minor league contracts after receiving the blessing of the Chinese Baseball Association. Both of them will report to Tampa around July 6th. This all comes on the heels of the Yankees signing a working agreement with the Chinese Baseball Association back in January.
On Wednesday, Yu Bing Jia, 24-year-old infielder/outfielder, and Wei Wang, a 28-year-old catcher, both signed minor league contracts with the Seattle Mariners. Both of them will report to the Mariners summer league team in Australia and will be there unless they are playing with the Chinese National Team.
It was only a matter of time before MLB teams tapped into the Chinese market. We have seen players from Japan and Korea and shortly you will be watching Chinese players in the big leagues. It also great for the teams because it now gives them another market to be seen in and sell merchandise.
