Another Japanese Starting Pitcher Will Be Available for Cubs to Sign in Free Agency

Right-hander Roki Sasaki has been talked about for years as fans wait for his eventual MLB arrival, but there’s now another Japanese starting pitcher who will be available to sign in free agency this offseason and he’s right in Jed Hoyer’s wheelhouse.

According to ESPN’s national baseball reporter Jeff Passan, veteran pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano is expected to sign with an MLB team this winter as an international free agent. The soon-to-be 35-year-old has spent his entire professional baseball career pitching in the NPB in Japan.