Orioles acquire 3-time Japanese MVP Tomoyuki Sugano

On Monday evening, the Baltimore Orioles came to terms with long time Japanese ace Tomoyuki Sugano. The deal is for 1 year and $13 million, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Sugano has a long track record of success in Japan's NPB. He's coming off a stellar year, in which he posted a 1.67 ERA in 156.2 innings. He went 15-3 and won the third Central League MVP of his career. Sugano has spent his entire career with the Yomiuri Giants. In addition to the three MVP's, Sugano has also captured 3 Central League Mitsui Golden Glove awards, been named an NPB All Star 8 times, and won the Eiji Sawamura award twice.

Sugano is now 35, and is almost certainly past his prime as a starter. He's seen his fastball velocity drop into the low 90's in recent years but his pinpoint command and ability to induce weak contact has kept him near the top of the Japanese pitching ranks. There's hope that his skill set will translate well to MLB, even considering the challenges that can come from lower velocity.

Sugano was actually posted by the Yomiuri Giants back in the 2021 offseason but he never finalized an MLB deal. He went back to NPB with Yomiuri. He was eligible to be posted in each following year but he actually took a step back on the mound and never opted to try to earn a deal with a MLB club.

Orioles sharpen rotation with Tomoyuki Sugano signing

After this most recent effort, it made a lot of sense for Sugano to try his luck. Clearly the Orioles like what they see, and for good reason. MLB's David Adler compared Sugano to two other Japanese starters, in Hiroki Kuroda and Hisashi Iwakuma. Both Kuroda and Iwakuma had success in the majors, and if Sugano is able to carve out a similar spot in the Orioles rotation, this will wind up being a successful signing for Mike Elias and the Orioles.

As mentioned, Sugano isn't a fireballer in the mold of a Shohei Ohtani or a Roki Sasaki. Sugano hammers the zone and induces weak contact. He doesn't get a ton of strikeouts but he also runs tight walk rates. His 0.9 BB/9 in 2024 was a career best and he's never posted a BB/9 over 2.1 in 12 NPB seasons.

All told, this is a great signing for the Orioles. It's a one-year deal, so there's no long term commitment for Elias and the O's. Sugano doesn't have extreme upside but his base skill set also offers a fairly high floor, and he should be able to slot right into the Orioles rotation as a 3-4 starter behind Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez.

Maybe best of all is that Sugano has the ability to help the Orioles right now, and the signing doesn't preclude a bigger deal for someone like Corbin Burnes, or a trade for a Dylan Cease or Framber Valdez.