BASEBALL / Big signing: Rakuten Monkeys give Lin Li NT$180 million extension

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) The Rakuten Monkeys, the defending champions of Taiwan's professional baseball league, have signed five-time all-star utility man Lin Li (林立) to an eight-year contract extension worth up to NT$180 million (US$5.73 million).

The Monkeys announced the extension in a statement on Wednesday, the eve of Lin's birthday, making the deal the second-largest in the history of Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).

The record is held by Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) of the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, who signed a 10-year, NT$200 million extension in early 2025.

"There is no doubt about [Lin Li's] status on the team. He's the absolute leader," Monkeys manager Tseng Hao-jiu (曾豪駒) said during a commercial event on Tuesday.

Lin's previous contract expired at the end of 2025, which on paper should have given him the minimum nine years in the CPBL required to become a free agent as he began his career in 2017.

But he did not play enough in 2017 for it to qualify as a year of service, meaning he was not eligible for free agency until after the 2026 season.

Rather than signing Lin to a short-term deal to keep him around in 2026, the Monkeys decided to lock him up for the long term.

Expressing his happiness for the player, Tseng said he expected Lin to shoulder more responsibility and continue to elevate his game.

Tseng also believed that the signing of several marquee contracts by CPBL teams during the past two years would give young, talented players more motivation to play in the league.

Lin, who turned 30 on Wednesday, joined the Lamigo Monkeys (now Rakuten) as the fifth overall pick in the 2017 mid-season draft.

In addition to three batting titles, he has won four CPBL championships with the franchise, including a "three-peat" from 2017 to 2019. He was also the 2019 Taiwan Series MVP and the 2022 regular season MVP.

Lin has played various positions since 2017, including shortstop and third base. Despite his official designation as a second baseman, he only played in the outfield when on defense during the 2025 season.

Lin was also a key member of the "Team Taiwan" squad that won the 2024 WBSC Premier12 championship, securing Taiwan's first major senior-level international title in its national sport.