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Most Like Teams to Sign Japanese Star Pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano

By Jason Schandl

Most likely MLB teams to sign Tomoyuki Sugano, including the Boston Red Sox.
Most likely MLB teams to sign Tomoyuki Sugano, including the Boston Red Sox. / Harry How/Getty Images
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The MLB winter meetings kick off on Tuesday, and expect Tomoyuki Sugano to be a name generating a ton of buzz this week.

The Japanese star pitcher has been posted by the Yomiuri Giants, and he will be eligible to sign with MLB teams starting on Tuesday morning. The 31-year-old just spun a stellar 1.97 ERA across 20 games in 2020, marking his second time with an ERA below 2.00 in the last four seasons, bringing his NPB career average to 2.32.

Sugano will have a chance to step in and make an immediate impact in an MLB rotation. These are the three teams most likely to wind up signing him.

1. Boston Red Sox

Expect the Boston Red Sox to be in the conversation for just about any viable starting pitcher that hits the market this season. Boston's 5.58 team ERA was the third worst in the majors in 2020, and that included a 5.34 mark (No. 25 in the MLB) from their starters.

2. Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs were on the opposite end of the spectrum from Boston, with their starters' collective 3.77 ERA ranking sixth in the majors in 2020. Jon Lester, Tyler Chatwood and Jose Quintana are all hitting free agency, however, making starting pitcher a position of immediate need.

3. New York Mets

The New York Mets can obviously feel good about having Jacob deGrom atop their rotation, and Noah Syndergaard should be back in action in 2021 as well, along with Marcus Stroman. But with Rick Porcello and Michael Wacha both becoming free agents, the rotation's depth isn't nearly as formidable as the top-end talent.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.