Baltimore faced plenty of adversity on the mound last season. Zach Eflin provided less than 75 innings, Charlie Morton fell off a cliff, and Grayson Rodriguez never made an appearance for the Orioles.
Kyle Gibson failed to rediscover his 2023 magic, and both Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells returned far too late to make an impact.
Cade Povich and Brandon Young struggled to take a step forward, and Trevor Rogers could only take the ball every fifth day. The Orioles rotation floundered all season, but two pitchers provided some stability from the back end of the rotation.
Dean Kremer has been around since 2020. He’s a solid—not spectacular—starter that can hold his own in the AL East. The Orioles had a decent idea of what they could expect from Kremer in 2025. On the other hand, Tomoyuki Sugano entered the season as a complete unknown.
The 35-year-old starter dominated in Japan before finally taking a crack at Major League Baseball. The Orioles inked Sugano to a one-year, $13 million deal and provided him an opportunity to showcase his talents against the world’s best.
Sugano used his unknown status to his advantage early in the year. The righty pitched to a 3-1 record, 3.00 ERA and 1.152 WHIP over his first six starts. His fastball averaged below 93 MPH, and he struggled to make hitters miss, but he knew how to pitch. Sugano’s early success was heightened by the fact that almost every other pitcher struggled to last five frames.
Sugano kept things rolling with a 3.48 ERA over five starts in May. He held opponents to three runs or fewer in 14 of his first 15 starts, but his FIP sat over a full run higher than his ERA. It felt like Sugano had been getting away with something for the first few months, but things finally started to spiral toward the end of June.
Sugano allowed seven earned on three homers in a 22-8 loss to Tampa Bay on June 27. In his next start, the rookie allowed six earned on 10 hits and two homers against Texas. After 99.1 innings pitched, Sugano held a 4.44 ERA at the All Star break.
Things never really got back on track after that. Sugano delivered the occasional seven-inning gem like his outing against Oakland on August 8, but a seven-run loss in San Francisco two weeks later caused everything to even out. Teams really hammered Sugano as the season came to an end. The righty allowed nine home runs in his final four starts. He ended the season with a 10-10 record, a 4.64 ERA, annd 157 innings pitched.
Of all the numbers, it’s the last one that stands out. Sugano trailed only Kremer in innings pitched. He remained healthy for the duration of the season and never shied away from a challenge. In a perfect world, Bradish, Eflin, Rodriguez and Wells would have all returned from injury and bumped Sugano from the rotation, but that’s not how the season unfolded. The Orioles desperately needed innings from starters, and Sugano delivered.
Sugano officially became a free agent at the end of the World Series. He did not pitch well enough to earn a qualifying offer, but he’ll offer a level of value to an interested party. Sugano expressed interest in remaining in the MLB, and he’ll join a long list of free agents capable of filling out the back of a rotation.
It’s difficult to quantify Sugano or Baltimore’s interest in a reunion. The Orioles know his strengths and weaknesses better than anyone. He limits walks, understands the art of pitching, but does not possess the type of stuff to routinely best talented hitters. His 4.64 ERA looked relatively tame compared to Morton and Gibson, but his xERA of 6.05 should be enough to give any potential suitors pause.
At times, Sugano made for a fun story during a really depressing season. The former Yomiuri Giant has one major league season under his belt, and the baseball veteran surely feels he can make adjustments in 2026.
The Orioles need to sign starters and relievers that possess more potential than Sugano, but that doesn’t mean they should shy away from additional depth. Sugano will likely try his luck with another team next season, but Baltimore could reach out if the righty remains available as spring training grows near.
