DENVER -- The Rockies on Tuesday addressed the need for experience in the starting rotation by reaching a one-year agreement with right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, who pitched last season with the Orioles after 12 seasons as the ace of Japan’s Yomiuri Giants.
They also addressed a nagging question by placing veteran Kris Bryant on the 60-day injured list, meaning the fifth year of his seven-year, $182 million contract will begin in the manner of the previous four -- with Bryant rehabbing chronic back issues.
Sugano, 36, went 10-10 with a 4.64 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 157 innings for the Orioles, as a dependable figure during the team’s down year. Sugano will be pitching for Team Japan in the World Baseball Classic alongside Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Yusei Kikuchi. Then he will join a Rockies team that sought a seasoned starter.
Sugano -- much like veteran Michael Lorenzen, who signed a one-year contract earlier this offseason -- has a large pitch arsenal, throwing six different pitch types: a four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, sweeper, curveball and splitter. At this stage of his career, he doesn't have high velocity -- his fastball averaged just under 93 mph in 2025 -- but he gets outs by mixing all six of his pitches.
“Stuff-wise, the combination of command and a deep pitch mix was attractive to us, and all the other things -- he’s been a winner throughout his career,” Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said.
The Rockies had largely bowed out of the market for veteran starters in recent years. But under DePodesta and new general manager Josh Byrnes, they have found winning veterans. According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Sugano's deal is worth $5.1 million.
The Rockies' goal was to increase the experience level for manager Warren Schaeffer, who was interim manager for the final five months of last season. Sugano joins Lorenzen, longtime Rockies rotation lefty Kyle Freeland -- who will turn 33 on May 14 -- and Ryan Feltner, 29, as starters on the 40-man Major League roster who last season were beyond their rookie years in the Majors. Antonio Senzatela, 31, made 23 starts in his 30 appearances last season, but the club announced at the end of last season that he will be converted to relief.
Sugano earned 2017 and '18 Sawamura Awards -- Japan’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award -- and Most Valuable Player Awards in '14, '20 and '24 in Nippon Professional Baseball before coming to the Majors. He was an eight-time All-Star and led his league in ERA four times and in strikeouts twice. In 276 NPB games, Sugano went 136-74 with a 2.43 ERA and 1,585 strikeouts in 1,857 innings.
Sugano's best pitch is his splitter -- the wipeout pitch of many Japanese aces -- which he threw more often than any other pitch in 2025 and used to record 50 of his 106 strikeouts.
“Our pitching coaches are excited to work with him, and then off the field he’s achieved at an extraordinarily high level,” DePodesta said. “He’ll be a great example for some of the younger pitchers on our staff, and maybe some of the older pitchers -- just to see how he goes about his business and prepares. All those things were really attractive to us.”
In his first season in MLB, Sugano was excellent at limiting walks -- his 5.3% walk rate was seventh-lowest among pitchers who threw at least 150 innings last season -- but he was vulnerable to the long ball, allowing an American League-high 33 home runs.
“All pitchers give up homers,” DePodesta said. “If they’re solo homers, they’re a lot less damaging. He and Lorenzen both share some of the same qualities in that they are very, very good strike-throwers. They attack the strike zone.”
Bryant, 34, was limited to 11 games last season (.154 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI) before the club announced in April that he was dealing with lumbar degenerative disk disease. Year-long examinations and rehab could not get him back on the field. Bryant has been limited to 170 games (.244 BA, 17 HR, 61 RBIs) since signing his contract during Spring Training 2022.
“Through the course of the winter, he’s had a number of different visits with Keith Dugger [head athletic trainer and director of medical operations] and our medical staff,” DePodesta said. “The determination was made that, realistically, he’s not going to be ready to go within the first couple of months and certainly not for Spring Training, so it just made sense to take that pressure off the table.”