Often major-league clubs try to sell their cities when recruiting players from Asia. The Baltimore Orioles took a different approach with Japanese free-agent right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano.
They sold their team.
“We made it a very baseball-oriented conversation,” Orioles general manager Mike Elias said. “I think he really liked that.”
The Orioles’ signing of Sugano to a one-year, $13 million contract on Monday qualified as a surprise, if for no other reason than the last free agent they signed out of Japan to appear in their uniform was reliever Koji Uehara in Jan. 2009 (lefty Tsuyoshi Wada followed Uehara in Dec. 2011, but did not reach the majors until 2014 with the Chicago Cubs).
Baltimore, an East Coast city with a miniscule Japanese population, would appear an unlikely destination for Sugano, one of the most accomplished pitchers in the history of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). But the 35-year-old wanted to join a championship contender. And the Orioles, in a Zoom call on Dec. 5, appealed to his professional instincts, offering ideas for how they could help him improve.
Sugano, even after winning his third Central League MVP award last season with a 1.67 ERA in 156 2/3 innings, was open to new thoughts. Orioles pitching coach Drew French and pitching strategist Ryan Klimek were on the call, along with Elias, manager Brandon Hyde and vice president of professional scouting Mike Snyder.
“I really loved our conversation with him,” French said. “He was listening so intently and I remember seeing the look on his face as he processed it all.”
Tomoyuki Sugano’s stuff is nasty pic.twitter.com/4sUiXP25Bh
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) December 18, 2024
Trackman data on Japanese players is available to major-league teams, enabling club officials to evaluate data the way they do with major and minor leaguers. At one point, French and Klimek made a suggestion to Sugano about pitch usage and location. Sugano had an answer.
“He had a real good back-and-forth with our coaches about why he was not already doing some of the things they were suggesting,” Elias said. “It was because of differences between the American strike zone and Japanese strike zone. Clearly, he’s a very cerebral pitcher.
“We have particular optimism that he’s going to figure out a way to transition to Major League Baseball because his command and pitchability are so well above-average. We think he’s going to be able to implement scouting plans and make changes. He’s very self-aware as a pitcher.”
Added French, “We thought a guy with his experience and versatility would probably enjoy the back and forth. He asked some really good questions and made it known he was after a World Series title. After seeing the investments made since Mike arrived (in Nov. 2018) and what is on the horizon with this new ownership group, he could see himself improving and succeeding in this environment.”
One goal of the Orioles’ new ownership is to build a greater presence in Japan. Sugano, though, was hardly unknown to Baltimore, or any other major-league club. He pitched for Japan’s most famous and successful team. He also pitched in the World Baseball Classic and other international competitions.
Snyder said he began following Sugano as a rookie in 2013. He and Orioles vice president of international scouting Koby Perez also scouted him more recently, and impressed the pitcher with their knowledge of his career and six-pitch repertoire. Sugano, likewise, impressed Snyder during the Zoom call with Orioles officials, asking through an interpreter, “Do you want me to chase strikeouts? Do you want me to eat innings? How do you want me to pitch?”
“I wouldn’t limit his style,” Snyder said. “One week, we might need him to get through six innings. Another week, we might say, ‘Go out and be the best you can for however long that lasts.’ There are ways he’s going to be able to throttle things up and down a little bit. He’s intelligent enough and has the command to actually execute that.”
Sugano will face all the usual adjustments Japanese players must contend with – differences in the balls and mounds, differences in climates, foods and cultures. But the Orioles, who still want to add one more starter, are looking forward to what Sugano might contribute not only to their rotation, but also their overall approach to pitching.
“He might have a thing or two to teach us, too,” Snyder said.
Bellinger’s position: To be determined
The beauty of the Cody Bellinger trade, from the New York Yankees’ perspective, is that he can end up playing any one of three positions – first base, center field or left. The Yankees believe Bellinger, acquired Tuesday from the Chicago Cubs for reliever Cody Poteet, would give the team above-average defense at all three spots, according to a source briefed on the team’s thinking.
At the moment, the only certainty with the Yankees’ 2025 defensive alignment is that Aaron Judge will be in right field. If the Yankees sign a first baseman, they can put Bellinger in center and go with Jasson Domínguez in left. Or, perhaps more likely, they would go with Domínguez in center and Bellinger in left. Domínguez generally has looked better in center.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has rebounded from the loss of Juan Soto by adding a pitcher who threw six shutout innings in the 2021 World Series clincher, left-hander Max Fried; a two-time winner of the Trevor Hoffman Award as the National League’s best reliever, Devin Williams; and a former NL MVP, Bellinger.
Incredibly, considering they went to the World Series last season, the Yankees still need to add two players: A first baseman or outfielder, with Bellinger’s versatility giving them the flexibility to address either position; and a second baseman or third baseman, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. available to play either spot.
Who wants Santander?
In a game starved for power, free-agent outfielder Anthony Santander is a switch-hitter coming off a career-high 44 homers. So, now that Soto is signed, why does Santander continue to linger on the market?
Three possible reasons:
His career .307 on-base percentage. His sprint speed, which last season ranked in the bottom 18 percent of the league. And his poor defensive metrics, even though Orioles manager Brandon Hyde last season praised his work in right field.
Teoscar Hernández, 32, is two years older than Santander. His .320 career OBP is slightly higher. His defense, while hardly Gold Glove caliber, is slightly better, at least when he is in right instead of left field. And his sprint speed last season ranked in the 83rd percentile.
Santander, who is seeking a longer deal than Hernández, according to sources familiar with each player’s expectations, still figures to do well. But if teams view him as even somewhat one-dimensional, he could end up with a lesser deal than he desires.
Pirates keeping options open
So, how willing are the Pittsburgh Pirates to trade right-hander Jared Jones? Not as willing as they might have been before they sent Luis L. Ortiz to the Cleveland Guardians as part of the package for Spencer Horwitz, according to a source briefed on the team’s thinking.
The Pirates have worked hard to build their young rotation. Jones, 23, is under club control for five more seasons. But like the Guardians, Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers, teams with similar payrolls, Pittsburgh intends to stay open-minded on all possibilities, the source said.
The three teams mentioned above, all of whom are more competitive than the Pirates, generally improve not through free agency but through trades. The soaring price of free-agent pitching might prompt clubs to make aggressive trade offers for younger, cheaper starters. So, if a team offered the Pirates a hitter of comparable talent and service to Jones, it might be something they consider – or, at least, should.
(Top photo: The Yomiuri Shimbun via Associated Press)
