The Pittsburgh Pirates are without a Taiwanese player again after infielder Tsung-Tse Cheng (鄭宗哲) was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays on January 7. Cheng was designated for assignment on December 19th after the Pirates acquired additional roster players in a trade with Tampa Bay.
The Pirates signed Tsung-Tse Cheng as a 17-year-old prospect in 2019. He made his Major League debut on April 9 and played three games for the Pirates. He was the third Taiwanese player in Pittsburgh Pirates history after Wei-chung Wang in 2019 and Yu Chang in 2022. he Pirates have had numerous other Taiwanese players in the system, dating back to at least 2009 with Sheng-qin Hong, Pin-Hong Ji, and Ji-wei Xu.
