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Chien-Ming Wang's remarkable spring comeback has landed him back in the big leagues. The Royals announced their Opening Day roster Sunday morning, and Wang did indeed claim the last bullpen spot:

Wang, 36, has not pitched in MLB since 2013. He spent the 2014-15 seasons bouncing around Triple-A and an independent league.

The former Yankees ace won 38 games from 2006-07, but a foot injury in 2008 and a major shoulder injury in 2009 sabotaged his career. Wang suffered a torn shoulder capsule and had a 6.60 ERA in 163 2/3 innings from 2009-13.

Chien-Ming Wang is back in the big leagues with the Royals.
Chien-Ming Wang is back in the big leagues with the Royals. (USATSI)

Torn capsules are usually the kiss of death for pitchers. It has ended the careers of Rich Harden, Mark Prior, and John Maine, among others. Wang lost a lot of velocity off his trademark sinker following the surgery, hence his ineffectiveness.

However, the velocity returned this spring. Several spring training parks in Arizona are equipped with PitchFX, and the system clocked Wang's sinker at 92.6 mph on average this spring. The sinker had not averaged 92+ mph since 2009, before he hurt his shoulder.

Wang's sinker topped out at 96.3 mph this spring. In 2013, his last stint in the big leagues, PitchFX had the sinker averaging 90.4 mph and topped out at 93.5 mph. He's added about 3 mph to his sinker despite being three years older.

This spring Wang allowed five runs (four earned) in 15 innings. Most importantly, he had 27 ground ball outs and only seven in the air. That indicates the sinker is working. For now, Wang figures to pitch in long relief with Kansas City.

One strong spring training does not mean Wang is back to where he was with the Yankees. He's going to have to continue to prove himself given his recent history. The improved velocity is definitely encouraging though. This is one comeback story worth rooting for.