Cheng Tsung-Che Joins New York Mets, Becoming the Third Taiwanese Player in Team History

Four days after being designated for assignment by the Tampa Bay Rays, Cheng Tsung-Che was picked up by the New York Mets through the waiver process and is about to relocate to the "Big Apple."

The Mets’ home stadium is located in Flushing, New York, an area with a significant Taiwanese immigrant population. The team was among the first in Major League Baseball to regularly celebrate Taiwanese Day, yet Taiwanese players have been uncommon in their history. The first was Hu Chin-lung, who retired from the CPBL last year; he was traded from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Mets at the end of December 2010 and appeared in 22 games during the 2011 season, recording 1 hit in 20 at-bats over 23 plate appearances, marking the final chapter of his MLB career.

Lin Tzu-Wei, who has five years of MLB experience, became a free agent after the 2021 season and signed a minor league deal with the Mets during spring training the following year. However, he only played 36 games in the minors before being released in August of the same year without making an MLB appearance for the Mets, marking the team as the last stop in his professional baseball career in the U.S. system.

Cheng Tsung-Che, who made his MLB debut last year with the Pittsburgh Pirates, went hitless in 7 at-bats over 3 games in early April, striking out three times without drawing any walks, and was caught stealing once before being sent back to Triple-A. In 107 games and 397 plate appearances at Triple-A, he posted a batting line of .209/.307/.271 with an OPS of just 0.578.

Although Cheng Tsung-Che made the Mets’ 40-man roster, the team aggressively strengthened its infield this offseason by signing experienced players such as Marcus Semien and Jorge Polanco, and more recently reportedly agreeing to a three-year deal with Bo Bichette. Alongside core players like Francisco Lindor, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and Luisangel Acuña, the Mets’ infield depth is crowded. If Cheng remains on the 40-man roster and is not removed, he will likely start the new season back in Triple-A.

The Mets also have another Asian player on their roster — rookie right-handed starting pitcher Jonah Tong, a Hong Kong-born Canadian, who is regarded as a promising pitching prospect.