The offseason is almost two months in, and the Baltimore Orioles decide to make a big international boom, signing right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year, $13M million deal.
Sugano, 35, will be spending his first season in the major leagues after having a 12-season career in Japan.
Sugano’s rookie year was during the 2013 season with the Yomouri Giants, and he came out the gate strong, having a 13-6 record with a 3.12 ERA. This would be Sugano’s highest ERA in a season up until the 2019 season when he posted a 3.89 ERA in 136.1 innings.
Sugano is coming off arguably his best season, as he pitched in 24 games and carried a 1.67 ERA in 156.2 innings. He had a 15-3 record, pitched three complete games, including a shutout, gave up just 29 earned runs, walked 16 batters and struck out 111.
Sugano has pitched 281 games in Japan and had an ERA of 2.49 in 1,873.1 innings of work. He tossed 42 complete games and 22 shutouts, gave up 510 earned runs and 145 home runs, walked 352 batters and struck out 1,596. His career BB/9 is 1.7 while having a K/9 of 7.7.
This is a surprising yet significant pickup, as the Orioles were looking for another starter or two for the rotation. The most noticeable aspect of Sugano’s game is his command, something he’s mastered overseas.
Sugano was named Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League MVP last season and is a three-time Central League MVP, three-time Central League Mitsui Golden Glove Award winner, eight-time All-Star and two-time Eiji Sawamura Award honoree.
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