Japanese right-hand pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, one of the biggest stars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), is finally bringing his talents to MLB.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Tomoyuki intends to negotiate with MLB teams this upcoming winter. He will be an international free agent, meaning he is free to sign with any team of his choosing.
Sugano, who will turn 35 later this month, spent his entire 12-year baseball career with the Yomiuri Giants. During that time, he was an eight-time NPB All-Star, won two Central League MVP awards, captured the Triple Crown in 2018, and won two Eiji Sawamura Awards, which corresponds to the Cy Young Awards in MLB.
Sugano will come to the United States with a career 121-71 record, 2.50 ERA, and 1,474 strikeouts. He also just finished an impressive 2024 campaign that saw him compile a 15-3 record in 24 starts with a 1.67 ERA and 111 strikeouts.
This isn’t the first time that Sugano set his eyes on MLB. Yomiuri Giants posted him back in 2020, but he never managed to land a deal that was to his liking and ended up remaining in NPB.
This time around, Sugano is expected to receive quite a lot of interest from teams looking to boost their rotation. The likes of San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and Boston Red Sox are expected to be interested in his services.
