Angels lose out on starting pitcher they were previously linked to

Evan Roberts

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The Minasian brothers, Perry and Zack, were thought to be in a bidding war over a starting pitcher coming over from the NPB. However, it appears that there was a true dark-horse candidate. The Baltimore Orioles have signed Tomoyuki Sugano to a one-year deal for ~$13 million. There is no associated posting fee attached to Sugano.

The Angels' previous interest in Sugano speaks for itself. ESPN's Jeff Passan described Sugano's repertoire like this: "he doesn't have stuff that sizzles, but he's the sort of practitioner of pitching who still can find success in the big leagues." In theory, he is basically a more-polished version of Kyle Hendricks in 2025. The soon-to-be 35-year-old has a long track record of success in the NPB, and the Angels are certainly showing a penchant for bringing in established veterans who still have something left in the tank. It sure seemed like they were going to be the team to land Sugano, the two sides seemed to share a lot in common -- the Angels love their mid-30s, soft-contact focused starting pitchers.

The Angels should be active in the mid-tier starting pitching market, especially now that the upper-tier pitchers' contracts are inflating to insane levels. They are likely avoiding pitchers like Nick Pivetta and Sean Manaea, who have qualifying offers attached to them. Sugano represented a cheap rental who could allow them to explore some unique roster-building if they landed him.

Perry Minasian is clear in his stance: he wants to continue upgrading every facet of the roster. While the starting rotation has certainly improved, it still has some ways to go. Yusei Kikuchi, José Soriano, Tyler Anderson, Reid Detmers, and Kyle Hendricks is a solid group, but will Minasian stand pat? He has a multitude of avenues he could go down to both add and subtract from this group. Anderson is on an expiring deal, and they could try and fortify another position group/their prospect pipeline through a trade.

Now that Sugano is gone, it does not seem that the Angels are linked to any pitchers. The organization does do a great job of moving in silence and not telegraphing their moves. When they miss out on a pitcher they were linked to, it causes some frustration. The fans want more moves!

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Evan Roberts

Evan Roberts worked in professional baseball for 5 years, after pitching collegiately at Davidson College for 4. After graduating in 2018, he worked with the Boston Red Sox at their Pawtucket affiliate for the 2019 season as a Player Development Intern. He picked up with the Chicago White Sox in 2020, but after the Minor League season was canceled he worked with Team USA Baseball at their National Training Complex as a Trackman Stringer/Operator. From 2021-2023, he worked with the Los Angeles Angels as a Game Planning Strategist at their Arizona (ROK League), Salt Lake (AAA), Rocket City (AA) affiliates. He attended the Angels' last 2 Major League Spring Trainings. During Rookie Ball games, he coached 1st base and assisted the players & coaches in the dugout.