Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Tomoyuki Sugano

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

Age: 31 (10/11/89)

Stats: 14-2, 20 games started, 137.1 IP, 1.97 ERA, 0.888 WHIP, 131 K, 8.6 K/9, 1.6 BB/9

Rundown

The Mets need a few starters this offseason and there is no clear cut option behind Trevor Bauer. Jake Odorizzi seems to be the popular “second option.” Personally, I like Garrett Richards and both Corey Kluber and James Paxton are intriguing rebound candidates. Another pitcher has emerged in that group though. That would be Japanese star, Tomoyuki Sugano.

Sugano has spent his whole career with the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB league. His accolades in that league include two Central League MVP awards and two Eiji Sawamura awards (their equivalent of a CY Young).

While his stats might seem eye-popping, I am much more interested in his repertoire. Most pitchers who try to join the MLB from overseas have insane stats. Masahiro Tanaka had two seasons with a 1.27 ERA in Japan before coming to the MLB.

Sugano used to be a typical hard thrower but in 2014, he damaged a ligament in his elbow. That has subsequently led to a decrease in velocity. According to Sports Info Solutions, his fastball velocity is now in the low 90s. Sugano also has a slider, splitter, and curveball as his secondary pitches. Both the slider and splitter are said to have a lot of downward action and are usually his put-away pitches.

Just about everything that is out on Sugano would suggest that he does not have wipeout stuff like Shohei Ohtani did when he came into the league. Instead, what sets him apart is his command.

According to SIS, “He primarily throws his fastball on the outside corner with precision and works his other pitches off that. Against righties he will throw the slider on the outside corner or start it there and let it break off the plate.”

Pitchers with pin-point accuracy tend to age very well. Zack Greinke is a perfect example of this. Obviously I am not comparing the two in terms production, just providing an example of a pitcher who has used their command to maintain strong results despite not having great stuff.

In the Wilpon era, the Mets did not have a lot of scouting in Asia but hopefully this will change. Sandy Alderson specifically mentioned last week that the Mets were involved with posted players from Japan and Korea. Obviously he did not specifically cite Sugano but there’s a good amount of reason to believe that the Mets have some interest.

Contract

The contract process would require agreeing to a contract with him and then giving the Giants a posting fee depending on the contract amount. This is different from previous bidding processes that required teams to pay before negotiating a deal. Most would agree that Sugano projects as a number three starter in the major which should amount to roughly three-years and $36-42 million, in my opinion.

Recommendation 

The downfall from Bauer to the next few starters is pretty big. There’s a lot of intriguing pitchers, but no surefire number two starter. Sugano would definitely stabilize the floor of the rotation, giving the Mets a reliable arm behind Jacob deGrom and Marcus Stroman. I do understand the risk of giving Sugano $12-14 million a year, but he would address a big area of need for the team. I would be very happy if they managed to sign him.