Tomoyuki Sugano

New York Yankees news/rumors: Tomoyuki Sugano, Garrett Richards linked to Bombers

December 2, 2020 by Alexander Wilson

With free-agent pitchers being plucked off the market, the New York Yankees are waiting patiently to strike and add a starter to the rotation. With the majority of players signing one-year deals in hopes of cashing in after a contract year in 2021, the Yankees could elect to retain Masahiro Tanaka on an extension. While that would be a familiar face added to the rotation, he does not fully embody a number two arm behind Gerrit Cole.

The Yankees need an elite one-two punch if they want to push deeper into the postseason after a decade of failing to reach the World Series. There’s no question they have the talent, they just fall ill to fatigue during the latter portion of the postseason, and their hitting disappears at times.

As stated above, options are quickly thinning, but there are two pitchers the Yankees have been linked to the past few weeks.

The New York Yankees could target an international player:

If the Yankees don’t go with Tanaka, they could look to the international market to help bolster their rotation. The Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan have a fantastic right-handed pitcher that could fit the bill well.

According to MLB Network, the Giants are expected to put him on the market, and at 31 years old, Tomoyuki Sugano is elite in his own respect. In 2020, he finished with a 14-2 record, 1.97 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and 131 strikeouts over 137 innings.

Morosi expects some MLB general managers to place Sugano in the class directly below Bauer among free-agent starters and names the Padres, Giants and Yankees as the teams to watch in the race for the 31-year-old righty, per MLB.

Sugano spent the past eight seasons with Yomiuri, posting a 2.34 ERA with 1,216 strikeouts and 265 walks in 1,362 innings. He’s a two-time winner of the Sawamura Award, an honor given to the top starting pitcher in NPB.

Sugano could fill one of three spots the Yankees are looking to fill next season. With James Paxton, Tanaka, and JA Happ hitting the market, Sugano offers a fantastic supplement. Considering Tanaka earned $23 million last season and is 32 years old, he might be more attractive based on his familiarity with the MLB and the Yankees’ Clubhouse. However, taking a chance on a different option could end up being beneficial.

Another arm the Yankees have been linked to is former Padre Garrett Richards. In 2020, Richards pitched in 51.1 innings, logging a 4.03 ERA, 40.1% ground ball right, and 8.09 strikeout per nine. Richards, another injury-prone pitcher, would likely come on a cheaper deal, similar to Paxton several years ago. Theoretically, retaining Paxton might even be a more valuable move based on his lefty arm and dominance when healthy. Richards to simply an alternative that could make sense for the Yankees and their desire to stay under the $210 million luxury tax threshold.

New York Yankees News/Rumors: The Yankees have another pitching option, Tomoyuki Sugano

December 1, 2020 by William Parlee

Tomoyuki Sugano, arguably the best pitcher in Japan, will most likely be posted in the coming weeks and become available to the New York Yankees and other major league teams. Updating this article that was written on November 2, Sugano will be posted as early as this week, according to MLB.com.

The New York Yankees have some tough decisions to be made during this offseason. The decisions will be mostly with what to do with their pitching rotation headed by Gerrit Cole, but there are no definites beyond that. One decision has been made; the Yankees did not offer free agent Masahiro Tanaka a qualifying offer; many thought the “Tank” would be back with the Yankees next season. However, in free agency, Tanaka can negotiate with the Yankees, but the Yankees will only consider a deeply discounted contract for the short term. James Paxton and J.A. Happ were not issued qualifying offers, leaving some big holes in the starting rotation.

There may be some relief for the Yankees as Luis Severino is expected back before the All-Star break, returning from Tommy John surgery. If the Yankees decide to take back their 2019 most winningest pitcher Domingo German,s who was suspended for the 2020 season, They will have Cole, Montgomery, German, and at some point Luis Severino. But that still leaves a position or two to fill. One of those may be filled by Deivi Garcia.

The Yankees will most likely need another starting arm. But after a season of no money caused by the coronavirus, it’s hard to tell if the Yankees will penny-pinch or spend a modest amount to bolster the starting lineup. That pretty much rules out Trevor Bauer, who will demand big bucks. There are other possibilities like Corey Kluber and Kevin Gausman. Or might the Yankees look to Japan as they did with Masahiro Tanaka?

The New York Yankees since the 1990s have had an interest in players that played well for Japanese teams. Hideki Irabu, Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Kei Igawa, Hiroki Kuroda, Ryota Igarashi, and Masahiro Tanaka. Now they could be looking at Tomoyuki Sugano to solve their pitching rotation.

This season so far (the season is still going on), he is 13-1 with an ERA of 2.05. For his career, he is 100-50 with an ERA of 2.35. The 31-year-old righty is 6′ 1″ and weighs 210 pounds. He a three-quarters delivery, Sugano throws two fastballs (four-seam and sinker sitting at 90-93 mph, a solid slider, a curveball, and a forkball. He is known for his excellent command, posting a BB/9 of 1.8 in his Japanese career.

Sugano has a solid ability to generate weak contact, holding opposing hitters to a 55% ground ball rate. To top it off, he can help himself out with the glove once the pitch is released. His pitching style makes him a good fit for the Yankee Stadium short porch.

Major League scouts have said that Sugano would make a solid number three starter in the Major Leagues.

New York Yankees Analysis: Yankees need pitching help, who will the Yankees pick?

November 7, 2020 by William Parlee

After several losing postseasons for the New York Yankees, the Yankee brass is left to make several decisions to improve the team and get to another World Championship. Many Yankees fans and the Yankee front office agree that the Yankees need pitching help. Beyond ace Gerrit Cole, looking down the pitching rotation is like looking down a grocery shelf just before a natural disaster. The Yankees basically have no pitchers to follow Cole with Masahiro Tanaka, James Paxton, and J.A. Happ, all becoming free agents in this 2020-2021 offseason.

The Yankees realize that although it may not be the main reason for failure, the sub-par pitching rotation has certainly contributed to not getting out of the postseason and on to a World Series appearance. In helping to correct that, the Yankees face another difficult situation. That is that after a season where the Yankees are projected to lose almost $700 million without making a dime, they will be cash-short in trying to solve the club’s issues. Also, in the shadows is not knowing whether fans will be allowed in the stands next year either as the coronavirus is escalating to its highest infection rate so far.

Trevor Bauer:

The best pitcher on the free-agent market is Trevor Bauer. In the 2020 shortened season, Bauer was with the Cincinnati Reds he went 5-4 with an ERA of 1.73 and WHIP of 0.79; Cole went 7-3 with an ERA of 2.84 and a WHIP of 0.96. Bauer’s 1.73 ERA was the best in baseball, making him a great compliment to Gerrit Cole. Bauer’s problem is that he will come with a high price, one that the Yankees may not be willing to take on. There is also the issue of the supposed feud between Cole and Bauer that started back in college. Cole doesn’t talk of it, and Bauer says it’s a thing of the past.

For Cole’s part, he knows that if the New York Yankees acquire Bauer, he knows that the one-two punch of he and Bauer will put the Yankees in a unique situation to get a 28th World Championship, and maybe, just maybe they can show off their Championship rings together. But the biggest issue is if the Yankees are willing to commit to another high paid player.

Lance Lynn:

Why does Lance Lynn fit for the Yankees? One big thing is that Lynn is a workhorse like CC Sabathia in his prime. He can eat innings and keep the bullpen pitchers in the bullpen. Even at 33 years old, Lynn pitched 84 innings this past season, the most in all of baseball. Think for a moment about Masahiro Tanaka, who can eat innings; he pitched only 48 innings.

Lynn is not an ace type pitcher but a solid middle of the rotation guy. With Cole leading the rotation and a returning Luis Severino and possible return of Domingo German, Lynn would be a firm number four in the rotation. If the Yankees decide to negotiate with Masahiro Tanaka and bring him back at a discount, that will produce a solid starting rotation, leaving Montgomery, Garcia, and Schmidt to fight for a place in the rotation and give the Yankees an excellent backup of pitchers should someone become injured.

Lynn is a veteran pitcher with an uncanny ability to adapt to any situation. With the Texas Rangers in 2020, Lynn got off to a slow start, made adjustments, and came out of the season fifth in the Cy Young Award voting. The bottom line is that the is a near-perfect fit for Yankee Stadium. He pitches over six innings per game and a 6-3 record close to Cole’s performance of 7-3.

There are ups and downs to this trade. As good as a pitcher as he is, Lynn will be less costly than either Paxton or Happ, last year he earned only $8 million. In a year that the New York Yankees will want to save money, acquiring Lynn to solve the pitching situation is very economical. Lynn in 2018 with the Yankees when 3-2 in 9 starts, so we know the bright lights of Yankee Stadium are not a factor with Lynn. The downside to that trade is that the Yankees will most likely have to give up prospects that they may not want to give up, which will hurt. But the Yankees may have to take on some hurt to bolster the pitching rotation.

Marcus Stroman:

He is ranked above some other starters because of his age and overall track record. But Stroman suffered a calf tear and then elected not to play in 2020. At least it wasn’t an arm injury, and Stroman is still on the right side of 30. The performance downside is that Stroman’s not a high-strikeout arm at a time when such flash is highly prized, so he needs a strong defensive cast behind him.

Stroman, in the past, has said he would like to play for the New York Yankees, but last year coming from the Blue Jays he ended up being traded to the crosstown New York Mets. In summer camp this year, he suffered an injury and elected to opt-out of the 2020 baseball season. Stroman is a good mid-rotation pitching option that will probably not end up in the Bronx.

Charlie Morton:

The main alure for the Yankees with Charlie Morton is that the 37 year old is a successful postseason veteran. He would come to the Yankees at half the price of going after Bauer. Because of his age he may look for a short contract of a year or two, which could be attractive to the Yankees. Morton is a solid pitcher that showed his worth this year for the Tampa Bay Rays. He also pitched successfully for the Houston Astros against the Yankees. What may make Morton attractive to the Yankees is that he is a postseason veteran. Since 2013 in the postseason, Morton is 9-4 with an ERA of 3.38. Many believe that Morton would be good fit for the Yankees.

Taijuan Walker:

Walker has been kicking around for a while now; he debuted with the Seattle Mariners and played five average years with them before being traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks. His time with the Arizona Diamondbacks took a detour following Tommy John Surgery. Walker was 9-9 with a 3.47 ERA in his 32 starts for them. He was then traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Even better, Walker finished strong with the Toronto Blue Jays this past season. He made six starts for them—going 2-1 with a magnificent 1.37 ERA proving that his health issues are behind him.

With an ERA of 1.37 over six starts will certainly garner a look from New York Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman. A question could be, would he hold up over a 162 game season? Nevertheless he will be considered by the Yankees.

Tomoyuki Sugano:

Tomoyuki Sugano, arguably the best pitcher in Japan and will most likely be posted in the coming weeks and become available to the New York Yankees and other major league teams.

The New York Yankees since the 1990s have had interest in players that played well for Japanese teams. Hideki Irabu, Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, kei Igawa, Hiroki Kuroda, Ryokta Igarashi, and of course Masahiro Tanaka. Now they could be looking at Tomoyuki Sugano to solve their pitching rotation.

This season so far (the season is still going on) he is 13-1 with an ERA of 2.05. For his career he is 100-50 with an ERA of 2.35. The 31 year old righty is 6′ 1″ and weighs 210 pounds. He a three-quarters delivery, Sugano throws two fastballs (four-seam and sinker sitting at 90-93 mph, a solid slider, a curveball and a forkball. He is known for his excellent command, posting a BB/9 of 1.8 in his Japanese career.

Sugano has a solid ability to generate weak contact, holding opposing hitters to a 55% ground ball rate. To top it off, he is quite able to help himself out with the glove once the pitch is released. His pitching style makes him a good fit for the Yankee Stadium short porch. Major League scouts have said that Sugano would make a solid number three starter in the Major Leagues.

New York Yankees News/Rumors: Should the New York Yankees target Tomoyuki Sugano?

November 2, 2020 by William Parlee

Tomoyuki Sugano, arguably the best pitcher in Japan and will most likely be posted in the coming weeks and become available to the New York Yankees and other major league teams.

The New York Yankees have some tough decisions to be made during this offseason. The decisions will be mostly with what to do with their pitching rotation headed by Gerrit Cole, but beyond that there are no definites. One decision has been made, the Yankees did not offer free agent Masahiro Tanaka a qualifying offer, many thought the “Tank” would be back with the Yankees next season. However in free agency Tanaka can negotiate with the Yankees, but the Yankees will only consider a deeply discounted contract for a short term. James Paxton and J.A. Happ were not issued qualifying offers, leaving some big holes in the starting rotation.

There may be some relief for the Yankees as Luis Severino is expected back before the All-Star break, returning from Tommy John surgery. If the Yankees decide to take back their 2019 most winningest pitcher Domingo German,s who was suspended for the 2020 season, They will have Cole, Montgomery, German and at some point Luis Severino. But that still leave a position or two to fill. One of those may be filled by Deivi Garcia.

The Yankees will most likely need another starting arm. But after a season of no money caused by the coronavirus, it’s hard to tell if the Yankees will penny-pinch or spend a modest amount to bolster the starting lineup. That pretty much rules out Trevor Bauer who will demand big bucks. There are other posibilities like Corey Kluber and Kevin Gausman. Or might the Yankees look to Japan as they did with Masahiro Tanaka?

Major League scouts have said that Sugano would make a solid number three starter in the Major Leagues.

New York Yankees: DJ LeMahieu, Tanaka, Chapman trade, and Sugano, all you need to know

November 2, 2020 by William Parlee

Yankees offer DJ LeMahieu qualifying contract

As expected, the New York Yankees have made a qualifying offer to DJ LeMahieu. That offer is for one year at $18.9 million. The chances that DJ will accept that offer is the same as saying the New York Mets buy the Yankees. It just isn’t going to happen. DJ will want something in the $20 million range and for as long as four years.

LeMahieu has been everything the Yankees could have wanted and hoped for. He is an elite leadoff man, who won the batting title this year, won the Silver Slugger award last year, and has provided excellent defense for the New York Yankees at second base. DJ has three Gold Glove Awards to this name. All that said, If DJ demands much more than $20/4yrs in this cash strapped offseason, the Yankees could very well let him walk. With the qualifying offer, it will be more difficult for other teams to acquire him as they will have to give up a draft pick, which could be a high as a number one draft pick.

Is Masahiro Tanaka’s time with the Yankees over?

What is interesting in the LeMahieus qualifying offer is that the Yankees did not offer it to any other Yankee free agent, and that includes Masahiro Tanaka, who many thought if any pitcher were retained, it would be Tanaka. Could this indicate that the Yankees will be moving on from the “Tank”? The answer is yes but not necessarily? The Yankees could still negotiate with the free agent. If they do, they will be looking for a short contract at a very deep discount.

Tanaka has been a mostly dependable pitcher for the New York Yankees for the last seven years. But his record for the last two years has been shaky at best, even though he increased his average fastball by an mph last season. But that has been wiped out by decreased ground ball outs and his propensity to give up the long ball. If the Yankees move to keep Tanaka, they will likely offer him something in the ballpark of $12 million, the same they did for James Paxton, who also did not receive a qualifying offer.

Will the Yankee’s trade-off Aroldis Chapman?

There is a lot of scuttlebutt out there about the Yankees trading for this player of that player, so is it possible the Yankees will look to dump payroll in this cash short postseason by trading off Aroldis Chapman? Probably not, but it is not beyond the realm of possibilities.

What makes this a possible scenario is that the Yankees exercised Zack Britton’s option and signed him through the 2022 season. Considering that Aroldis Chapman is no long unhittable and has given up postseason ending runs to the opposition two years in a row, it makes Zack Britton even more attractive to close games for the Yankees. When Chapman was tested positive for the coronavirus, Britton got eight consecutive saves for the Yankees.

Will the Yankees explore Tomoyuki Sugano, Japan’s best pitcher?

Baseball scouts and sportswriters alike consider Tomoyuki Sugano as Japan’s best pitcher. His team will likely post him, the Yomiuri Giants, the team the Yankees will have to pay a portion of his contract to if they sign him. Sugano has excellent numbers and is ideally suited to Yankee Stadium. This year so far, he has gone 13-1 with an ERA of 2.05. His eight year career numbers should be scary for any team facing him, he is 100-50 with an ERA of 2.35.

With all the talk of the Yankees targeting Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, and Kevin Gausman, the New York Yankees could just forgo the American market and go for Sugano instead. If they did, they would get a bargain as Sugano only earns $7 million a year. Sugano would not be an ace in the American market, but according to reports would be a solid number three starter, which will likely make him interesting to the Yankees. He is still playing as the Japan League was delayed a month.

Sugano can be posted from Nov. 8 to Dec. 12 and must sign with a MLB team within a month of being posted. If he is posted, the Yankees will not be the only team looking at him to imporove their rotation. The rumor mill has the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays interested in the 30 year old pitching sensation.