The Orioles signed longtime NPB star to a one-year contract on Monday evening. Sugano, a client of VC Sports Group, is reportedly guaranteed $13MM. Baltimore had an opening on the 40-man roster, so no additional move was nece sary. Sugano makes the jump to Major League Baseball for the first time in whatll be his age-35 season. Hes one of Japans most accomplished pitchers. The 61 right-hander spent 12 years with the Yomiuri Giants in his home country. He posted a 2.43 earned run average in more than 1800 innings at the NPB level. Major league scouts have followed Sugano for some time. He first appeared on many fans radars when the Yomiuri Giants made him available via the posting system during the 2020-21 offseason. Sugano was coming off a 1.97 ERA showing in his age-30 season. While he certainly attracted attention from big league clubs, he didnt find a deal that compelled him to leave Japan. Instead, Sugano returned to the Giants on a four-year deal that paid him $40MM. That contract allowed Sugano to opt out after each season, potentially clearing a path for him to make the move to MLB. He was evidently happy with his longtime club and decided not to take any of the early outs. Once the four-year term concluded, his camp made clear he intended to sign with an MLB team this offseason. Sugano had surpa sed the nine years of NPB service time nece sary to qualify for international free agency. Yomiuri will not receive any compensation for his departure, nor will the deal cost the Orioles anything other than the players salary. Despite his age, Sugano is coming off one of his strongest seasons. He turned in a 1.67 ERA acro s 156 2/3 innings spanning 24 starts. Its the second-lowest ERA of his career and earned him the NPBs Central League MVP award for the third time. Thats not to say hes still at his absolute peak form, however. Sugano only threw 77 2/3 innings during the 2023 season, reportedly on account of an elbow injury. His swing-and-mi s rates have also dropped significantly compared to earlier years. Sugano struck out 18.3% of batters faced this year well off the 24- Ryan Jeffers Jersey 26% range hed posted in his late 20s. Suganos NPB strikeout rate was about four percentage points lower than the 22% MLB average for starting pitchers. Many NPB hitters adopt a more contact-oriented approach than is common in the big leagues, so perhaps hell mi s a few more bats in the majors. Sugano doesnt have the same upside he wouldve brought a few seasons ago, though. Baseball Americas notes that his fastball velocity has dipped into the 92-93 MPH range after sitting somewhere between 94-96 MPH earlier in his career. While the pure stuff has dropped as hes aged and battled injury, Sugano has thrived thanks to his feel for pitching. Thats most evident in his excellent command. Sugano only walked 16 hitters all season, a microscopic 2.6% rate thats lower than what any MLB starter managed this year (minimum 100 innings). That should rise slightly as he faces more patient hitters, but its fair to project Sugano for plus or better command. Baseball America writes that Sugano indeed profiles as a control-oriented fourth or fifth starter. The outlet credits him with a five-pitch mix headlined by an above-average slider and splitter. Fans are encouraged to read BAs full column, which also includes updated scouting reports on other prominent NPB and KBO players who are available to MLB teams (i.e. , , and ). The contract aligns with MLBTRs prediction of one year and $12MM. It values Sugano as a capable back-end starter. signed for $15MM with the Tigers last week. Late-career innings eaters ($11MM) and ($13MM) got similar one-year deals with the Cardinals last offseason. Sugano is a needed rotation upgrade for GM Mike Elias and his front office. The Os should continue searching for higher-upside arms in the coming weeks. Sugano slots behind and in the projected rotation. , , and youngsters and are options for the final two spots. The rotation remains Baltimores biggest question mark. Sugano is the third highest-paid player on the roster, narrowly trailing Eflin ($18MM) and newly signed outfielder ($16.5MM). Their player payroll is up to $134MM, as calculated by . Its not clear how far theyre willing to push spending in the first offseason under the David Rubenstein ownership group. first reported the salary. Image courtesy of USA Today Sports. Addison Reed Jersey