Tomoyuki Sugano has left Japan’s version of the New York Yankees to sign with the Baltimore Orioles, who will try to beat out the real thing in 2025.
Sugano, 35, has been a star for 12 years with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League. He has twice won the Sawamura Award (Japan’s Cy Young Award), is a three-time League MVP and eight-time All-Star.
The Orioles, supplanted in 2024 by the Yankees as champions of the American League East, gave Sugano a one-year, $13 million contract.
LOS ANGELES: Tomoyuki Sugano of Team Japan pitches during Game 2 of the Championship Round of the … [+]
He is the third free agent signed by Baltimore this month, joining outfielder Tyler O’Neill (three years, $49.5 million) and catcher Gary Sánchez (one year, $8.5 million). General Manager Mike Elias reportedly is still interested in re-signing ace Corbin Burnes. It will be tough. The Yankees just signed free agent Max Fried for eight years, $218 million. Burnes will want more.
Hall of Famer Jim Palmer, in the Orioles’ organization as a pitcher and broadcaster since 1964, hopes the signing helps Baltimore get back to the World Series for the first time since 1983. Palmer posted on his X account: “O’s sign Japanese starter Tomoyuki Sagano (Sugano). Lady (Last) 2 years Mike Elias got Kyle Gibson, 15 wins, Corbin Burne (Burnes), 15 wins. Both received over 6 runs a game in run support. Hope that happens for Sagano (Sugano).”
Palmer never gave up a grand slam in his storied career. Typos plague his posting skills, however.
A Proven Pitcher
In 2024, Sugano won his third Central League MVP Award by going 15-3 with a 1.67 earned run average. He walked only 15 and struck out 111 over 156 2/3 innings. It followed the first losing record (4-8) of his career in 2023.
FUKUOKA, JAPAN: Pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano during the SAMURAI JAPAN Send-off Friendly Match between … [+]
Sugano has a 2.43 ERA in 276 career games but is far from a workhorse, reaching 200 innings only in 2018. He has always had great command of a six-pitch mix, walking only 1.7 batters per nine innings. His overall record is 135-74 with 1,585 strikeouts and 347 walks in 1,873 innings.
His top fastball reaches the 92-93 mph range. Sugano also throws a cutter, slider, splitter, sinker and curve. That vast yet seemingly ordinary mix has been successful in limited action against MLB players in the World Baseball Classic. In 2017, he gave up one run over six innings to the United States team.
MLB teams were interested in signing Sugano in 2021, but he stayed in Japan.
The 6-foot-1, 198-pound pitcher knows about winning. He has been part of five Yomiuri pennant winners, including 2024. The Giants have won 39 pennants and 22 Japan World Series overall.
The Orioles’ Outlook:
The rotation currently shapes up this way.
1. RHP Zach Eflin
2. RHP Grayson Rodriguez
3. RHP Dean Kremer
4. RHP Tomoyuki Sugano
5. LHP Cade Povich
Right-handers Kyle Bradish (Tommy John surgery) and Tyler Wells (UCL reconstruction) will open the season on the injured list. Right-handers in the mix are veteran Albert Suárez and rookies Chayce McDermott and Brandon Young. Lefty Trevor Rogers, acquired in July from the Miami Marlins, will get a chance to rebound from a poor 2024 season.
Expected to bolster Baltimore’s stretch run, Rogers was sent to the minors after going 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA in four starts.
The Orioles led the division by three games on July 9 with a 57-33 record, then went 34- 38 to finish three games behind New York. Baltimore was bounced out of the wild-card round in two games by the Kansas City Royals.
This Had Better Work
Orioles fans naturally will be skeptical of this move, given their team’s experience with three previous pitchers from Japan: right-handers Koji Uehara (2009-11) and Shintaro Fujinami (2023) and lefty Tsuyoshi Wada, who never made it to Baltimore.
CLEVELAND: Tsuyoshi Wada of the Chicago Cubs pitches against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive … [+]
Wada got a two-year, $8.5 million deal at age 31 in 2012 and promptly got hurt. In his first game for Triple-A Norfolk, he allowed six runs, six hits and four walks over 2 2/3 innings (20.25 ERA) and missed the rest of the season. The next year, he went 5-6 with a 4.03 ERA at Norfolk and was released.
Wada did go 5-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 21 games for the Chicago Cubs in 2014-15, then returned to Japan. He’s still pitching. At age 43 this year, he had a 2-2 record for the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks.
BOSTON: Koji Uehara of the Boston Red Sox saves a 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park … [+]
Uehara got a two-year, $10 million contract loaded with $6 million in incentives from the Orioles in 2009. He lasted 2 1/2 ordinary years in the Baltimore bullpen, overall going 4-7 with a 3.03 ERA and 13 saves. Traded to the Texas Rangers, he was a sensational setup man, walking only 4 and fanning 66 with a 2.50 ERA in 56 games in 2011-12.
The cagey right-hander signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 and was a great closer, saving 79 games with a 2.19 ERA over four years.
BOSTON: Shintaro Fujinami of the Baltimore Orioles faces the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on Sept. … [+]
Fujinami was picked up in a July 2023 trade from the Oakland Athletics and the hard thrower went 2-0 with a 4.85 ERA. That was considerably better than what he did with the A’s: 5-8, 8.57 ERA. This year, he had a 5.58 ERA in the New York Mets’ farm system. He throws strikes, he’s good. He walks nearly as many as he strikes out, however.
Tomoyuki Sugano must perform as expected this season, not down the road for another ballclub if the offensive-laden Orioles expect to finally get back to the World Series.
