The Pirates reportedly have interest in the Wei-Yin Chen, from Taiwan, and Tsuyoshi Wada. Both are lefties who pitched this year in Japan.
↵Chen, 26, put up very good numbers in his first few full seasons in Japan, but struggled with an injury last year, and both his velocity and his strikeout rate dropped precipitously. He might make sense for the Pirates, but only if they can first determine that he's healthy. When healthy, he has a good slider and reasonable velocity for a lefty.
↵Wada, 30, should be cheaper than Chen. He's put up good numbers in Japan, but he doesn't throw hard, so it's an open question whether he can maintain that success in the big leagues.
↵Of the two, Chen appears to have more upside, but he's also far from guaranteed to be successful, due to his struggles last year. I wouldn't break the bank to sign either of these players, but one or the other might be able to provide some decent innings in the Pirates' depleted rotation.
↵The same article notes the Pirates' interest in Cuban outfielder Yeonis Cespedes, but the Bucs have already indicated they won't be a serious contender for Cespedes if prices get high, as they almost certainly will.
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