Yomiuri Giants ace Tomoyuki Sugano said Saturday that he will seek to join an MLB team as an international free agent this offseason.
“I have told the team of my intention,” said the 34-year-old right-hander. “I want to play over there.”
The announcement came after U.S. media reported on his planned bid. “I feel sorry to people who learned about it through such reports,” Sugano said.
It is his second attempt to join the majors, after he failed to reach a deal with an MLB team in his first bid, made through the posting system after the end of the 2020 season.
The long-time Giants starter played for Tokai University Sagami Senior High School and Tokai University before joining the club as the team’s No. 1 draft pick in 2012.
Sugano will turn 35 on Friday, likely making the latest effort his last chance to play in the big leagues. “I had always been thinking about the fact that I couldn’t go (to the MLB) in 2020,” he said.
He has led the Central League in wins four times: 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2024, and won the Sawamura Award as NPB’s best pitcher twice, in 2017 and 2018.
In the 2024 season, Sugano went 15-3 with a 1.67 ERA, helping the Giants win the Central League pennant for the first time in four years. In his 12-year career in NPB, he has notched 136 wins alongside 74 losses, while recording a 2.43 ERA.