The Korea Baseball Organization’s Hanwha Eagles announced on Thursday that they signed Taiwanese left-handed pitcher Wang Yan-Cheng.
Wang, 24, spent the past six seasons with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles’ farm team in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.
Next season, Wang will become the second player from Taiwan in KBO history, per a report from The Chosun Daily, a Korean-language newspaper. He joins former pitcher Wang Wei-Chung, who signed with the NC Dinos in 2018.
According to the announcement from the Eagles, Wang agreed to a one-year deal worth $100,000 for the 2026 KBO season. Beginning next season, the KBO will allow each team to carry one additional player from an Asian country or Australia on its roster. However, that player must have competed in one of the two continents the previous year. This new system in the KBO is known as the Asian quota.
Wang compiled 85 outings in the Golden Eagles’ minor league system since making his debut with the club as a 19-year-old in 2020. He owns a career 3.62 ERA and averaged 6.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 343 professional innings. In 2025, Wang finished second in NPB’s Eastern League with 10 wins and third in ERA (3.26).
“We expect Wang Yan-cheng to consistently anchor the starting rotation. Although he played in the second team, he gained full-time starter experience in the NPB,” Eagles general manager Son Hyok told The Chosun Daily. “With only Ryu Hyun-jin as a left-handed starter in our rotation, his addition will balance the left-right mix.”
Wang represented Chinese Taipei at the 2019 U-18 Baseball World Cup, U-23 Baseball World Cup, and the 2023 Asian Games.
Photo: Wang Yan-Cheng signs a KBO contract with the Hanwha Eagles. (Photo via Hanwha Eagles on Instagram)
