SARASOTA—About two dozen Japanese and eight Baltimore reporters surrounded Tomoyuki Sugano early Saturday afternoon as he talked about his first day with the Orioles.
Sugano arrived at the Ed Smith Stadium complex at about 9:30, met with manager Brandon Hyde and played catch on the backfields. He expects to throw his first bullpen session on Monday.
The 35-year-old right-hander has a team translator, Yuto Sakurai, and answered questions in English before he tackled those from the Japanese media.
Sugano, who pitched 12 seasons for the Yomiuri Giants, wasn’t daunted by the media gauntlet, which was unusually large for a weekend spring session.
“I’m not so surprised because with the Yorimuri Giants, it was like this every day,” Sugano said.
The Orioles signed him to a one-year, $13 million contract in late December, and he spent time training in Hawaii before returning to Tokyo. His arrival was delayed while he obtained a work visa.
Sugano described his first few hours with the Orioles as “a very good day,” and said the team had welcomed him, especially Hyde, who offered to help him with anything.
“It’s great to see him,” Hyde said. “Long trip. He looks great. He’s really anxious to get out there. He was going to play some catch before I came inside to get his feet underneath him because he’s been traveling. But it’s great to see him and we welcome him with open arms.”
Sugano is eager to help the Orioles reach the postseason for a third straight time.
“When I first met with the Baltimore Orioles before I signed, they had expressed their desire to win the world’s championship,” Sugano said. “That had been my goal throughout.”
After his first meeting with Sugano, who was 136-75 with a 2.45 ERA in Japan, Hyde was impressed by his mentality.
“He’s all about winning,” he said. “That was clear with the two zooms that we had with him. He’s coming over here to win. That’s a great mentality. I love the mindset he has.”
In 2024, Sugano was 15-3 with a 1.67 ERA. He walked just 16 batters and allowed only six home runs in 156 2/3 innings.
“I always wanted to play in the big leagues,” he said. “I had a really good season last year, so I thought it was a good time to come over this year.”
Japanese teams use six-man rotations, and with Mondays off, generally pitch on the same day each week. Sugano is not going to have that same regularity in the United States, but he’s not concerned.
“Even when I was pitching in Japan, there were situations where I was pitching every five days or so, so I don’t necessarily feel any burdens going into the season,” he said. “I want to make sure I continue to do what I’ve been doing throughout my career, but also there are also adjustments I have to make, facing hitters over here.”
McDermott sidelined
Right-handed starter Chayce McDermott is out with what Hyde says is “a mild lat/teres strain.”
Hyde said that McDermott, who started one game for the Orioles last season, felt sore after throwing his final live batting practice before coming to spring training.
“He reported it, and we got it checked out,” Hyde said. “He’s going to start a throwing progression, probably in 10 days to 14 days, so it’s going to be a while before you see him on the mound.”
Left-hander Trevor Rogers is also out because of a dislocated right kneecap, but Hyde didn’t anticipate adding any starters to the Grapefruit League mix. However, some non-roster pitchers could be given additional innings.
Eflin arrives
Right-handed starter Zach Eflin arrived in camp on Saturday after celebrating the birth of his first son, Hayden. He and his wife, Lauren, have three girls.
“It’s been a little crazy,” Eflin said. “I went from being a full-time baseball player to running a day care, it feels like. We had such a good offseason, and the girls are getting so big and Lauren being pregnant the whole time until a couple of days ago. I’m happy I’m here and, hopefully, I get to see my family soon, in a week or two.
“You experience pure happiness and pure sadness at the same time. I just had my little man two days ago and had to say goodbye to him last night at 9 o’clock and not know when I’m going to see him next. It won’t be too long.
“My wife is still at home with four under 3 1/2, pretty much alone, so it’s not a great feeling. We’ll make it work. My mother-in-law lives right down the street, which helps. She’s amazing, so she’ll figure out a way.”
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