The Orioles added a veteran starter to their rotation on December 16, one who dominated in Japan for the last decade. Former Yomiuri Giant Tomoyuki Sugano is headed the Orioles, joining a team that’s made the postseason each of the last two seasons. But, one that needs help after injuries and a major free agent loss.
A Look at Sugano
It’s hard to find a more decorated, active pitcher in Japan than Tomoyuki Sugano. The former Yomiuri Giant won the NPB’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award twice in his career, won 136 games over 12 seasons, and posted a clean 2.45 ERA in his Japanese professional career.
Per JapanBall, Sugano has an eclectic pitch mix, including a four-seamer, two-seamer, cutter, split-finger, slider and curveball.
On video, his offspeed and breaking stuff complements his fastball well. Sugano’s splitter — more of a forkball — visually, has more drop than run, while his mid-70s curveball, when he commanded it well, had hard vertical break on it.
Sugano’s fastball sat in the low-90s, hanging around the 92-93 MPH range with his fastball.
The 35-year-old showed good command last season and has been astute when it comes to limiting walks. Sugano posted BB/9 rates below 2.0 in every season, sans two (2019, 2021), from 2016-24. This past season, he walked batters at a clip of 0.9 BB/9.
Sugano is more command over stuff, not a shock given his arsenal. He’ll work the lower half of the zone efficiently. He was, however, a good strikeout pitcher for a healthy chunk of his career.
The 35-year-old struck out over 170 batters three times between 2016-18, including a career-high 200 in 2018. However, his strikeout numbers have fallen over time. Sugano posted K/9 rates slightly above 6.0 in each of the last three seasons.
This was the second time in Sugano’s career in which he tried to move overseas. Sugano was posted by Yomiuri in December 2020 but didn’t sign with a MLB team. It’s worth noting that Sugano was posted after the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign.
Per reports, the Orioles signed Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year deal worth $13MM.
Analysis
It’s a somewhat remiscient move for the Orioles, who once signed a famed Japanese ace over a decade ago. Baltimore signed Koji Uehara at 34 years old over a decade after a dominant career to provide help in the O’s rotation. Uehera wasn’t a big hit in the rotation but turned into a strong reliever for the Orioles, Red Sox, and Cubs.
Nonetheless, this is a different move. The O’s were, at the time, among the worst teams in the AL and needed pitching help badly. Baltimore needs starters now but are in a state where the O’s have to make the most of their window.
Sugano is a heavy ground-ball pitcher, unsurprising given his arsenal and numbers. He stands to benefit from a solid Orioles infield defensively, one that will likely include the speedy Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson, and Jordan Westburg, the latter of whom posted a +5 OAA at third after struggling at second and short.
And, he’ll look to give the O’s much-needed reinforcements in the rotation. Corbin Burnes remains a free agent but is likely starting at a hefty payday after four strong seasons. The Orioles won’t have Kyle Bradish next season.
That leaves Grayson Rodriguez as the clear-cut ace, with Cade Povich, Dean Kremer, Sugano, and possibly either Albert Suarez or Chayce McDermott filling out the rotation.
It isn’t a ton of depth, which likely means the O’s aren’t done yet.