Orioles sign RHP Tomoyuki Sugano, reigning MVP from Japan

The Orioles signed a Japanese starting pitcher on Monday night. No, not that one. Mike Elias went out and got a 12-year veteran of Japanese baseball and the reigning MVP of NPB’s Central League in signing righty Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year contract worth a reported $13 million.

Sugano, 35, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career for the Yomiuri Giants, his team since he debuted in 2013. Sugano’s 2024 season saw him post a 1.67 ERA over 24 starts, while averaging nearly 6.2 innings per game started.

The competition is probably going to be tougher in MLB, so it’ll be interesting to see how some of Sugano’s strengths – particularly a 0.9 BB/9 and a sub-1 WHIP – translate to facing the competition over here. Something is probably going to have to change with a 6.4 K/9 to have the best chance of success. Sugano averaged about 92mph on his fastball in the most recent season, which is down 2-3mph from earlier in his career.

At least in Japan, Sugano has made his current velocity work for him. If he’s got a canny veteran knowledge that will translate well as he crosses the Pacific Ocean and North America, this will be a nice signing. Hopefully it works out better than the last couple of times the Orioles signed an older Japanese pitcher with the aim of having him join the starting rotation. Koji Uehara and Tsuyoshi Wada sure weren’t the answer to any hole in the rotation.

Put simply, if this is the only Orioles starting pitching addition of the offseason, we’re probably not going to have a positive outlook after these additions. Stepping back from that, Sugano is an interesting signing who seems like he should have a decent chance on improving over the back end of the O’s rotation, whether that’s Cade Povich or Trevor Rogers or whoever. The need for the top-end guy is likely still going to be there, unless Mike Elias has just managed to pull off the greatest signing of all time.

If you want to imagine that this is some kind of bank shot move to try to lure the younger Japanese star jumping over this season, Roki Sasaki, I am powerless to stop you from thinking this. It strikes me as highly unlikely that Elias would put much stock in that. This was a move that, in a vacuum, he thought improved the Orioles starting rotation enough to be worth the cost and the roster spot, and so he jumped on the signing.

As you chase the rumor mill over the remaining offseason, this signing offers a lesson. It came out of nowhere, as far as what’s been reported. Elias does not put his business out there, and neither does anyone in the front office who actually knows anything about what the Orioles are thinking. Not hearing rumors doesn’t mean that nothing is going on, and hearing a rumor doesn’t mean it has any credibility.

This has no impact whatsoever on the signing, but is fun for me to note nonetheless: Tomoyuki Sugano is a great Baltimore accent name. Ganbatte, hon.