After signing Michael Lorenzen to their rotation earlier this off-season, the Colorado Rockies indicated that they were still in the market for another veteran starting pitcher. It would appear that starting pitcher has been selected, as the Rockies have reportedly signed Japanese right-handed pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano MLB.com’s Thomas Harding was first with the news.
Sugano, 36, hails from the coastal prefecture of Kanagawa in Japan and put together a strong 12-year
body of work with Nippon Professional Baseball’s Tokyo Yomiuri Giants.
He is the first Japanese player to play for the Rockies organization since Kazuo Matsui in 2007, and the first Japanese pitcher since Mac Suzuki in 2001.
Working both as a starter and reliever, Sugano has a career 2.43 ERA across 276 NPB appearances. He attempted to enter the posting system following the 2020 season, but went unsigned.
The Baltimore Orioles signed Sugano to a one-year, $13 million deal for the 2025 season. During his “rookie” campaign, he worked exclusively as a starter and posted a 4.64 ERA over 30 starts and 157 innings while tallying 106 strikeouts. It is also worth noting that Sugano led the American League in home runs given up at 33—the third-most in Major League Baseball—but also had one of the better walk rates in the league.
Nicknamed “Tommy Sugar,” Sugano is known for his command and boasts an extensive arsenal out of his three-quarter arm slot, something the Rockies have prioritized for their new and experimental pitching philosophy heading into the 2026 season.
Sugano’s primary pitch is a split finger that averaged 87.3 MPH last season, backed up with a sweeping slider. He throws two fastballs, a four-seam and a “shuuto” that is sometimes identified as a sinker. Both pitches averaged close to 93 MPH last season. Sugano also throws a curveball, a cutter, and has worked with a forkball during his time in NPB.
In a corresponding roster move, the Rockies have placed Kris Bryant (degenerative disc disease) on the 60-day injured list.
Sugano will report to the Rockies’ spring training facility in Scottsdale with the rest of the team’s pitchers and catchers on Thursday. He is also expected to pitch for Samurai Japan in this year’s World Baseball Classic.
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