The most successful Japanese pitcher to have spent his entire career with Nippon Professional Baseball is reportedly crossing the Pacific at last, and he could find a home with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tomoyuki Sugano, who is coming off a season that saw him post a 15-3 record with a 1.67 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 24 starts with the Yomiuri Giants of NPB, has made the decision to come to Major League Baseball as an international free agent, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Sugano, on the eve of turning 35, is a two-time winner of NPB's equivalent to the Cy Young Award, known as the Sawamura Award. He is a two-time MVP of the NPB's Central League and has won the league's ERA title four times.
A 12-year veteran in his native Japan, Sugano was previously posted for MLB clubs in 2020. After collecting interest from several teams, he instead returned to Tokyo to pitch for the Giants, which are managed by his uncle, Tatsunori Hara.
Sugano's contract with the Giants gave him the opportunity to opt out every four years. According to Passan, the Japanese superstar is taking what figures to be his final chance to make the jump from NPB to MLB.
For a team like the Dodgers, who have long been a welcome home for Japanese players making the transition to MLB, signing a veteran presence with a proven track record like Sugano makes a lot of sense.
Los Angeles won the National League West Division for the 11th time in 12 seasons this year despite working with something of a patchwork starting rotation due to a rash of injuries.
The Dodgers made a deadline deal in July to acquire Jack Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers to solidify their rotation. However, Flaherty is an impending free agent this winter and could find greener pastures elsewhere, with Los Angeles expected to once again spend big to enhance the offensive lineup.
With it not set in stone that Shohei Ohtani will return to pitching next year after putting up stratospheric numbers as a purely offensive player in 2024, a player like Sugano could provide a lower-cost, yet still solid, alternative for the rotation in this offseason's strong class of free agent starters.
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