Ending a prolonged courtship involving several teams, 22 year-old right-handed reliever Lo-Chia Jen has finally fit an MLB glass slipper, signing a deal reportedly worth $250,000 with the Houston Astros. The hard-to-get Lo rebuffed earlier offers from the Red Sox, Twins, and Angels. Lo is the first Taiwanese sign for the Houston Astros.
The 5′11 righty previously sat on 90-93 MPH, but apparently elation with his new deal has bumped his velo up to 96 on several pitches in a recent college tourney. Lo is best suited to a setup or closing role, and primarily pumps fastballs. He occasionally mixes in a hard curve and split-finger as show-me pitches, but lives and dies with the heater.
The Astros were apparently unfazed by Lo’s notorious meltdown in the 2008 Beijing olympics in which he coughed up the lead to the vaunted Chinese team, eventually leading to the heart attack death of a 75-year old long-time Taiwanese baseball fan.
http://eastwindupchronicle.com/lo-chia-jen-finally-signs-with-someone/ so..is this a good thing?