Tomoyuki Sugano, ace of NPB’s Yomiuri Giants, will stay in Japan for the 2022 season

Right-handed boot Tomoyuki Sugano, a two-time Sawamura Award winner (roughly the Japanese version of Cy Young), has opted in to his contract for the 2022 season with the Yomiuri Giants of professional baseball. Nippon Industry, according to Yahoo! Japan.

Sugano was “submitted” by the Yomiuri in the final season to be considered by the Baseball League Baseball teams. Many clubs showed interest in him, including Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays. However, Sugano’s 30-day posting window came and went without him reaching an agreement with any of the teams. He then returned to the Yomiuri rotation as part of a multi-year deal that included opting out each winter if he wanted to pursue the right career.

Sugano’s decision to stay in Japan was made easier by recent developments in MLB. The owners of the MLB recently issued a lockdown, the league’s first shutdown since 1994-95. Teams were unable to sign locked players, leaving Sugano cold. Earlier this week, fellow NPB star Masahiro Tanaka choose to enter into its own contract; Industry speculation has led Tanaka to try to return to politics this winter.

Sugano, 32, has racked up a 2.41 career ERA and a stellar 4.53 rate walking through parts of nine NPB seasons. Most recently, he has compiled an ERA of 3.16 and a shot rate of 3.96 in 20 appearances this past season. A Baseball America scouting report from last winter noted the following about his game:

The slider (his) is probably the best in Japan and he can manipulate it to both sides of the plate. It was a devastating gift as he buried it inside against lefties. Sugano’s velocity has increased a bit in 2020 and he also deals more swing hits. He enhanced the use of the divider and also threw a cutter, curved sphere, and shuuto. His control remains as strong as ever.

Sugano and Tanaka aren’t the only NPB players whose MLB ties have been affected by the lockdown. Midfielder Seiya Suzuki, posted by his club at the end of November there has been a 30-day “pause” negotiation period during the lockdown.

Meanwhile, the longtime major league midfielder Freddy Galvis is said to be close to reaching an agreement to join the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks on Saturday, thus making him the first MLB player to go abroad instead of waiting for the downtime.