Scottsdale, Ariz. – Pitchers and catchers officially reported to Salt River Fields yesterday as the Rockies kicked off their 2026 campaign. At the very beginning of the day, newly signed Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano met with the media to discuss why he chose to sign with Colorado and how he expects to contribute.
Sugano, 36, was originally signed by the Rockies on Tuesday and has wasted no time joining the rotation (you can read Evan Lang’s write-up of the signing here).
“This organization
valued my pitching, and I feel like there’s a lot more that I can offer,” Sugano said through interpreter Yuto Sakurai, “so that’s one of the reasons why (I chose to sign with the Rockies).”
Sugano spent 2025 with the Baltimore Orioles in his first MLB season. Prior to that, he played with the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB from 2013–2024. In his stateside debut, Sugano posted a 10-10 record and 4.64 ERA in 30 starts. However, he also allowed 33 home runs, which led the American League.
“I had some struggles last year with it being my first year in the Major Leagues, and there are things that I wanted to improve coming into the season and pitching into the season,” he said.
“Something that you’ve pointed out is the amount of home runs that I gave up. I want to decrease that amount, but also at the same time, I don’t want to be afraid to throw strikes and making sure I have the mentality of attacking hitters. Those two will be my main objectives.”
Another reason Sugano was brought in was his veteran presence to a young ballclub, even though he stayed in Japan longer than many other players such as Roki Sasaki or Yoshinobu Yamamoto from the Dodgers, who both posted early.
“The long experience in Japan, obviously, has been applied and is working well for me and in my favor,” he said. “But also, after I came here, there’s a lot to learn day in and day out, so I’m trying to improve myself on a daily basis.”
And as far as connecting with younger players?
“I think I connected really well (with Baltimore players), especially with the pitchers,” he said. “Obviously, the younger guys will come up to me and ask me questions. I hope to do the same over here, and I think this organization expects that from me as well. So if I can continue to do what I’ve been doing, I think that will work out.”
He’s already started connecting with his Rockies teammates, especially the pitchers since “we’re obviously going to be in the same role, so it’s just easy for me to connect with them.” However, he’s also connected with a surprising player: “Zac Veen is one of the guys, if I were to single out someone.”
But the leadership and connection is one of the reasons that Sugano was brought to the Rockies.
“I expect the ultimate professional,” manager Warren Schaeffer said in his first presser of spring training.
“I expect him to fill up the strike zone. I expect him to take the ball every fifth day, just like he has his entire career. I expect him to provide ideas of leadership. I had dinner with him the other night, and he is just a fantastic human being. I’m so excited to have him around. But on the field, I look for consistency in the strike zone.”
But Schaeffer also sees some areas for his staff to improve, including Sugano.
“Specifically against left-handers, he needs to get ahead more against left-handers,” he said.
“That’s a big focus for the entire group, not just Sugano. That’s gonna be good for Sugano to work with Alon (Leichman) and Gabe Ribas and Matt Buschmann – these guys that have fresh ideas on how to do that. We all know that, but he’s going to attack the strike zone with all those pitches.”
“He was someone that I’d been looking at the entire offseason and thought he’d be a really good fit for us,” PBO Paul DePodesta said at Cactus League media day.
“One, he’s such an accomplished pitcher as a professional. I thought that would really help some of our younger pitchers. He also does exactly what we like, which is throw a lot of strikes with a very deep arsenal of pitches. He throws six different pitches, throws them all effectively, always keeps the hitters off balance. He’s also been extremely durable. He made 30 starts last year for Baltimore, so all of those things are things we were looking for. We thought it was going to be hard to find that in one person. We thought we could find someone who’s durable; someone who throws a lot of strikes; someone with a lot of different pitches; but in him, we found all of those things in one.”
Beyond the physical attributes, DePodesta also spoke to the veteran presence Sugano brings to a very young pitching staff, and a very young Rockies team as a whole.
“We also wanted those guys to have pitchers they could look up to, even in terms of their work ethic — how they go about every day, how they go about preparing, how they go about continuing to make adjustments even when they’ve been pitching at that level for 10-15 years,” he added. “And then from a front office perspective, we were interested for all of those reasons. I then shared our interest with the pitching coaches and said, ‘What do you think?’ and they were all extremely excited because of not only his strike-throwing ability, but because of his ability to manipulate the ball. They also think there are lots of different things they can do with him to have him be even more successful this year. So yeah, we’re very excited to have him.”
In addition to his new roster spot with the Colorado Rockies, Sugano is also suiting up for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic this spring for the second time in his career. He last pitched for them in the 2017 tournament.
“Yes, I’m very excited to pitch in that as well,” he said. “I’ve prepared really well for that tournament, so I’m just going to make sure I pitch really well.”
Overall, the Rockies have signed three veterans in the offseason to bring experience and leadership to a young pitching staff. Sugano also marks a shifting of the Rockies scouting, as he is the first Japanese player to sign with the team since 2007.
Spring training has only just begun, but the tides appear to be turning for the Boys on Blake.
After challenging year, Veen arrives at camp healthier and refocused | MLB.com
Zac Veen had his first cup of coffee in 2025, and it did not go over very well for a number of reasons. The 24-year-old was very young last year, and it showed in a multitude of ways (such as his purple hair in spring training and his marijuana celebration). However, Veen has come into 2026 camp with a different attitude after getting some tough love from Chris Forbes and Johnny Goodrich, his former coach in Florida. Thomas Harding chronicles Veen’s changes as he hopes to snag a roster spot with the Rockies in 2026.
Earlier this week, Renee discussed “optionality” with the Colorado Rockies players — a stark difference from teams of the past. Kevin Henry also explores the versatility desired by the new-look Rockies, and how that creates competition in spring training “that should add a little spice in Scottsdale.” Specifically, he cites newcomers Willi Castro, Edouard Julien, Troy Johnston and Jake McCarthy as evidence of the desired versatility, as well as how that might affect returning players such as Tyler Freeman.
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