Tomoyuki Sugano is headed to the major leagues at last, after the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night agreed to a US$13 million, one-year contract with the star Japanese right-hander.
Sugano is coming off a Most Valuable Player (MVP) season — his third — in Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League.
The 35-year-old spent 12 years with the Yomiuri Giants. He was posted by the Giants following the 2020 season and was available for major league teams to bid on, but he did not agree to a deal.
Photo: AP
After an injury-disrupted campaign last year, Sugano bounced back this season, going Sugano went 15-3 with a 1.67 ERA and 11 strikeouts, walking only 16 batters in 156-2/3 innings.
He added another MVP award after winning in 2014 and 2020. He is also a two-time Sawamura Award winner as Japan’s top pitcher.
Sugano boasts a formidable fastball, but almost two-thirds of his pitches this season were off-speed pitches from his varied arsenal that includes a slider, cutter and curveball.
Sugano pitched for Japan at the 2017 World Baseball Classic and allowed three hits in six innings in the semi-final against the US. He and current New York Mets starter Kodai Senga tied for the tournament lead in strikeouts.
In addition to his salary of US$13 million, Sugano can earn several award bonuses: US$50,000 for All-Star selection or election; US$100,000 for a Cy Young Award, US$75,000 for second place and US$50,000 for third; US$50,000 for a Gold Glove; US$100,000 for World Series MVP and US$50,000 for League Championship Series MVP.
He would become a free agent when the contract expires.
The Orioles have some pitching questions after making the post-season each of the past two seasons. Baltimore ace Corbin Burnes is a free agent, and starters Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells were both sidelined last year following Tommy John surgery. Grayson Rodriguez missed time down the stretch because of a lat injury.
Sugano represents another option with some potential upside on a low-risk deal — although he cannot be assigned to the minor leagues without his consent.
Additional reporting by AFP
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Donovan Mitchell on Wednesday scored 26 points as the Cleveland Cavaliers punched their ticket to the NBA playoffs with a hard-fought 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. A seesaw battle in Cleveland saw the Heat threaten to end the Cavs’ 11-game unbeaten streak after opening up a seven-point lead late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs clawed back the deficit in the closing minutes to seal their 12th straight victory and a place in the post-season. The Cavaliers improved to 52-10, maintaining their stranglehold on the Eastern Conference with 20 games of the regular season remaining. Mitchell was one of six Cleveland
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
RSS