Will Red Sox Pursue Brand-New Free Agent Starting Pitcher With 1.67 ERA?

The stats will certainly grab your attention...

May 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; A bag of baseballs sits on the diamond before a game against between the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Nationals at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Anyone who has watched Major League Baseball long enough will tell you the old saying certainly rings true: You can never have too much pitching.

For the Boston Red Sox, that statement holds true for starting pitching in particular. For three straight years, the Red Sox have trotted out unconventional solutions like openers and minor-league call-ups in desperate search of filling out their rotation during the second-half stretch run.

Looking to 2025, the Red Sox appear to have four starters locked in: Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito, who is returning from elbow surgery. Beyond those four, late-season call-ups Richard Fitts and Quinn Priester stand out as valuable depth options.

Most Red Sox fans are desperately hoping the team goes after one of the top names on the free-agent pitching market, and hopefully, that happens. But if the Red Sox also want to add an additional depth starter, a very intriguing option just became available.

As first reported by ESPN's Jeff Passan, Japanese veteran hurler Tomoyuki Sugano of the Yomiuri Giants is expected to sign with a major-league club this winter. Sugano, who turns 35 this month, posted a 1.67 ERA in 24 starts for the Giants this season.

Passan's scouting report on Sugano includes the fact that he throws in the low-90s, with a four-seamer, a two-seamer, and four quality off-speed offerings.

"What Sugano lacks in velocity he has made up for in command and pitchability," Passan said. "Over 156⅔ innings this season, Sugano has walked only 16 and allowed just six home runs -- in a league with a home run rate that is half of MLB's -- while striking out 111."

Though the Red Sox might be looking primarily for an ace with more velocity, Sugano does seem to fit the profile of hurlers pitching coach Andrew Bailey has had success with thus far. No one relied less on four-seam fastballs than Boston this season, and Red Sox starters ranked sixth among all teams in ERA.

There would be no excuse for signing Sugano and no other free-agent pitchers, to be clear. The Red Sox have to make a splash of some kind, or they'll be destined for mediocrity once again. Adding a starter in his mid-30s with no big-league experience, no matter how high the upside, is not enough to ensure the team makes the playoffs.

But could Sugano supplement the Red Sox's rotation mix and potentially save some of their starters' arms in case of injury or fatigue? Certainly he could, and there seems to be potential for him to become a bona fide rotation piece if things break his way.

More MLB: Beloved Former Red Sox Manager Shocks Baseball World By Taking Reds Job