Wang Po-Jung to the Nippon-Ham Fighters?

The Lamigo Monkeys announced the NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters have emerged as the winner of the 王柏融 (Wang Po-Jung) sweepstakes.

With the Monkeys accepted the posting fee from the Nippon-Ham Fighters, the Fighters now will have the next 30 days to negotiate a contract with Wang Po-Jung.

According to a Japanese article on November 14, they believe Wang Po-Jung’s posting fee should be around 100 million yen (roughly $890,000 USD). The Monkeys, however, did not disclose that information from the press release today.

“We will announce the posting fee once Wang Po-Jung has agreed to terms with the Fighters,” said the Monkeys’ general manager Justin Liu. “Apart from the Fighters, there are many other overseas teams that were interested in Wang Po-Jung.”

Posting Wang Po-Jung: Timeline

October 17: The Monkeys announced the team is going to post outfielder Wang Po-Jung in the offseason right after the 2018 Taiwan Series.

November 4: Started the posting process, with the goal of wrapping everything up by the end of the year.

November 20: The Lamigo Monkeys accepted the posting fee from the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters. The Fighters have won the negotiation rights to Wang Po-Jung for the next 30 days.

Foreshadowing: Fighters-Wang Po-Jung

Below is the personalised thank you card from the Fighters’ organisation to Wang Po-Jung from March 2018. The Monkeys was invited by the Fighters to played a 2-game exhibition series. Wang went 2-for-7 in that friendship series against the Fighters.