Searching for veteran depth in their starting rotation, the Rockies have agreed to a one-year, $5.1 million contract with right-handed pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano.
To make room on the 40-man roster, the Rockies placed oft-injured first baseman Kris Bryant on the 60-day injured list, essentially ruling him out for spring training. Bryant, who’s struggled with a chronic lower back injury, will make a total of $27 million this season.
Sugano, 36, is coming off a middling 2025 season with the Orioles, his first in the majors. Known for his durability during his long, storied career in Japan, he made 30 starts for Baltimore and pitched 157 innings, while posting a 4.64 ERA. His 5.3% walk rate was excellent, but his 15.1% rate was among the lowest in the majors. He also served up 33 home runs, the most in the American League and third-most in the majors.
Colorado's pitching brain trust has said it wants its starters to have a diversified arsenal, and Sugano fits the bill. The right-hander throws six different pitches: four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, sweeper, curveball and splitter. However, his fastball last season averaged just 92.7 mph, so he'll have to get by on command at Coors Field.
He is the second free agent pitcher signed by Colorado. The other was Michael Lorenzen. Lorenzen is guaranteed $8 million in 2026, and there is a club option for 2027 worth $9 million. Sugano spent his first 12 professional seasons with the Yomiuri Giants (2013-24) in Nippon Professional Baseball, going 136-74 with a 2.43 ERA, 347 walks and 1,585 strikeouts in 276 career games with the Giants.
Sugano pitched his 12 seasons for Yomiuri, where he won two Sawamura Awards (Japan's equivalent of the Cy Young Award) in 2017 and 2018, and three MVP Awards in 2014, 2020 and 2024. He was an eight-time All-Star and led his league in ERA four times and in strikeouts twice.
Sugano nearly made a move to Major League Baseball earlier in his career, but instead signed a four-year, $40 million deal in the 2020-21 offseason to stay with Yomiuri. He finally made the leap to North America last offseason, signing a one-year, $13 million deal with the Orioles.
