Baseball │ Lin Yi-Chuan Set to Become “Shanghai Shen-Chuan”! Report: Veteran Slugger to Join CPB’s Shanghai Zhengda Dragons with a Monthly Salary of RMB 40,000
VL Sports
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 – 5:31 PM
Recent reports indicated that 40-year-old former Uni-President 7-ELEVEN Lions star Lin Yi-Chuan—known to fans as “Shen-Chuan”—was interested in heading to mainland China to play in the China Professional Baseball City League (CPB). According to multiple media outlets today (Dec. 9), Lin Yi-Chuan has indeed decided to join the Shanghai Zhengda Dragons, although his monthly salary will be lower than before, reportedly around RMB 40,000 (approximately NT$180,000).
Lin Yi-Chuan, now 40, was not offered a new contract by the Uni-Lions after the 2024 CPBL season and was released. He subsequently failed to attract interest from the other five CPBL clubs during free agency. Media reports noted that Lin was highly motivated to “head west” and join the China Professional Baseball City League, which begins play on January 1 next year, and that the Shanghai Zhengda Dragons were the likely landing spot.
Lin was selected in the first round of the 2007 draft by the Sinon Bulls and moved to the Uni-Lions in 2023. Over his career, he has earned Rookie of the Year honors, four RBI titles, three MVP awards, and captured the Triple Crown in 2013 by winning the batting title, hits title, and home run title all in the same season. Across 6,720 plate appearances in the CPBL, he recorded 2,013 hits, including 210 home runs, with a career batting average of .332.
