The Orioles announced today that they have signed right-handed pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year major league contract for the 2025 season.
Sugano (pronounced toh-moh-yoo-kee soo-GAH-noh), 35, has had an illustrious 12-year professional career with the Yomiuri Giants in Nippon Professional Baseball’s Central League in Japan. Last season, he won the Central League MVP, boasting a 15-3 record with a 1.67 ERA (29 ER/156.2 IP), 132 hits (6 HR), 16 walks, four hit batters, and 111 strikeouts in 24 starts, which included three complete games and one shutout. His walk rate of 2.6 percent and 0.9 walks per nine innings were the lowest of his career. Sugano led NPB in wins, while his ERA was the second-best of his career and ranked second in the league.
A native of Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan, Sugano has an impressive career record of 136-74 with a 2.43 ERA (501 ER/1,857.0 IP), 1,568 hits (142 HR), 347 walks (12 IBB), 52 hit batters, and 1,585 strikeouts in 276 career games (248 starts) with the Giants. His accolades include three Central League MVP awards (2014, 2020, 2024), three Central League Mitsui Golden Glove Awards (2016-18), eight All-Star selections (2013-19, 2022), and two Eiji Sawamura Awards (2017-18), which are given to the top pitcher in NPB each season. Sugano was also named MVP of the 2013 Central League Climax Series. He has led the Central League in wins four times (2017-18, 2020, 2024), ERA four times (2014, 2016-18), and strikeouts twice (2016, 2018). In 2018, he achieved the pitching triple crown, leading NPB in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Sugano also represented Team Japan in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, starting the semifinal game against Team USA at Dodger Stadium, where he allowed one unearned run on three hits and one walk with six strikeouts in six innings. Sugano attended Tokai University in Tokyo.
With this signing, the Orioles’ 40-man roster remains at 40 players.
