“Not getting Burnes back” – Reddit reacts as Orioles land Japanese veteran pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano on one-year $13 million deal
The Baltimore Orioles have surprisingly picked up veteran Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano on a one-year $13,000,000 deal.
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Tomoyuki Sugano (Image via The Japan News)
In an interesting development, the Baltimore Orioles on Monday landed veteran Japanese pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano on a one-year $13 million deal. This deal with the 35-year-old pitcher comes at a time when the O’s are locked in a battle to re-sign Corbin Burnes from free agency.
The right-handed pitcher has made a huge name for himself in his home country of Japan. In his 12 years in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), Sugano as emerged as one of the greats to ever play the game for the Asian country.
Sugano has spent his entire career with the Yomiuri Giants, Japan’s most storied franchise. During his time with the team, he has won the Eiji Sawamura Award – Japan’s Cy Young Award twice. Apart from that he is a three-time Central League MVP, 8-time NPB All-Star, and won the Japanese Triple Crown in 2018.
He was posted to the MLB in 2020. However, things did not work out as he would have hoped back then as no teams showed interest in trying to acquire him. After that, Sugano returned to the NPB and re-joined the Yomiuri Giants.
Four years later he has finally got the big move in MLB after an impressive season in the NPB. In the 2024 campaign, he pitched with an ERA of 1.67 and picked out 111 strikeouts in 156 2/3 innings over 24 starts with the Giants.
Right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano and the Baltimore Orioles are in agreement on a one-year, $13 million contract, sources tell ESPN. Sugano, 35, was one of the best pitchers in Japanese baseball this year, posting a 1.67 ERA and walking 16 against 111 strikeouts over 156.2 innings.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 17, 2024
Sugano will now be the third Japanese-born pitcher to play for the Baltimore Orioles. The other two pitchers were fellow right-handers Koji Uehara (2009-11) and Shintaro Fujinami (‘23).
Fans react to Orioles signing Tomoyuki Sugano
The 2024 offseason has produced some interesting deals. One of these is the O’s one-year pact with Tomoyuki Sugano. The American League East side who are looking to bolster their roster for the next season, surprisingly picked up Sugano from Japan.
The major reason this deal is surprising is because of the age of the right-hander. His age of 35 makes him a shocking addition to the team.
Fans on Reddit were left shocked by this news. While some were happy to see him earn a move to MLB, many were left disheartened by the timing of this deal. It comes at a time when they try to re-sign their former ace Corbin Burnes. One user rhetorically asked “We’re not getting Burnes back, are we?“.
Check out that and some other top reactions from Reddit below:
For now, Sugano will join a pitching rotation consisting of Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, and left-hander Cade Povich. As for Burnes, the O’s will have to battle out hard to re-sign him as the San Francisco Giants are reportedly making a strong push to land the former Cy Young Award winner.
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Vinay Dave
(1770 Articles Published)