Wang re-signs for $1 million

Photo courtesy Bill Scheuermann

Chien-Ming Wang returns after appearing in two Florida instructional league games.

Chien-Ming Wang made $2 million from the Nationals last year without ever appearing in a game. The Nats are willing to give the Taiwanese right-hander another $1 million to make another attempt to return in 2011.

The Nationals re-signed Wang this evening to a one-year contract. He'll earn $1 million in base salary, with incentives that could bump the total value of the deal up to $5 million based on the number of starts he makes next season.

It's a similar contract to the one the Nats gave Wang in February, when they hoped the former 19-game winner with the Yankees would rediscover his past form following major shoulder surgery.

Wang, though, never did make it all the way back from his July 2009 procedure. He remained at the team's spring training facility in Viera all summer on a slow rehab program which finally culminated with a pair of one-inning appearances in the Florida instructional league this fall.

The Nationals saw enough out of Wang in those two appearances to take another shot on him, though first they non-tendered him in November to avoid having to go through an arbitration process that would have ensured he made at least $1.6 million. Wang became a free agent and could have signed with anyone, but he remained loyal to a Nationals franchise that put in all that effort this year.

He'll report to spring training in February with a shot at making the Opening Day rotation.