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Yu-Cheng Chang (Chinese: 張育成; pinyin: Zhāng Yùchéng;[lower-alpha 1] born August 18, 1995) is a Taiwanese professional baseball infielder for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians / Guardians, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Tampa Bay Rays.

Yu Chang
Chang with the Cleveland Guardians in 2022
Boston Red Sox – No. 12
Infielder
Born: (1995-08-18) August 18, 1995 (age 27) Taitung, Taiwan
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 28, 2019, for the Cleveland Indians
MLB statistics (through 2022 season)
Batting average	.213
Home runs	14
Runs batted in	61
Teams
Cleveland Indians / Guardians (2019–2022) Pittsburgh Pirates (2022) Tampa Bay Rays (2022) Boston Red Sox (2022–present)

Career

Minor leagues

Chang signed with the Indians in 2013 as an international free agent for a $500,000 signing bonus.[1] He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Arizona League Indians of the Rookie-level Arizona League, where he batted .346 with six home runs, 25 runs batted in (RBIs), and a .986 on-base plus slugging (OPS) in 42 games played. He spent the 2015 season with the Lake County Captains of the Class A Midwest League, where he posted a .232 average with nine home runs and 52 RBIs in 105 games. In 2016, while playing for the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League, Chang was named an all-star.[2] He was reported to be involved in a trade to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jonathan Lucroy during the 2016 season; however, the trade fell apart after Lucroy would not waive his no-trade clause.[3]

Chang finished the 2016 season with a .259 batting average with 13 home runs and 70 RBIs in 109 games.[4] In 2017, Chang played for the Akron RubberDucks of the Class AA Eastern League, where he hit .220, along with a .461 slugging percentage, with a career-high 24 home runs and 66 RBIs in 126 games.[4] The Indians added him to their 40-man roster after the season.[5]

MLB.com ranked Chang as Cleveland's sixth-best prospect going into the 2018 season.[6] He spent the 2018 season with the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League, batting .256 with 13 home runs and 62 RBIs in 127 games.[4] He returned to Columbus to begin the 2019 season.[7]

Cleveland Indians / Guardians

On June 28, 2019, the Indians promoted Chang to the major leagues.[8] He debuted that night against the Baltimore Orioles, starting at third base.[9] On August 25, Chang hit his first career hit and triple against the Kansas City Royals, against starter Eric Skoglund in the third inning and reliever Scott Barlow in the seventh inning. On September 9, he hit his first major league home run, a three-run homer, against Los Angeles Angels reliever Justin Anderson. Overall with the 2019 Cleveland Indians, Chang batted .178 with one home run and six RBIs in 28 games.[10]

Chang played in 10 games during the shortened 2020 season, batting .182 with no home runs and one RBI.[10] Chang started at first base for Cleveland on Opening Day in 2021.[11] He hit his first home run of the season on June 5, a three-run shot off Baltimore Orioles reliever Adam Plutko. Chang finished the 2021 season with nine home runs and 39 RBIs while batting .228 over 89 games.[10]

Chang appeared in four games for Cleveland during the 2022 season; he was 0-for-10 at the plate while striking out seven times.[10] He was designated for assignment on May 26, 2022.[12]

Pittsburgh Pirates

On May 30, 2022, the Guardians traded Chang to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations.[13] In 18 games with the Pirates, he batted .167 with one home run and two RBIs while appearing defensively at first base and second base.[10] He was designated for assignment on June 30.[14]

Tampa Bay Rays

On July 5, 2022, the Tampa Bay Rays claimed Chang off waivers from the Pirates.[15] He was promoted to the Rays' major-league roster on July 8. In 36 games with the Rays, he batted .260 with three home runs and 12 RBIs, while appearing at every infield position and also pitching two innings.[10] On September 9, Chang was designated for assignment.[16]

Boston Red Sox

On September 12, 2022, the Boston Red Sox claimed Chang off waivers from the Rays.[17] He was added to Boston's major-league roster two days later.[18] In 11 games with the Red Sox, he batted .150 (3-for-20) with one RBI, and made defensive appearances at first base, second base, and shortstop.[10] Overall during the 2022 season, Chang appeared in 51 MLB games for four different teams, batting .222 with three home runs and 13 RBIs.[10]

Personal life

Chang is from the Amis people, an Indigenous Austronesian ethnic group in Taiwan. He and his wife, Ling, have one son.[19]

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players from Taiwan

Notes

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet

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