Texas Rangers rumors: Team interested in Japanese pitchers Sugano, Arihara

The Texas Rangers are looking for starting pitching, and have expressed interest in Japanese right-handers Tomoyuki Sugano and Kohei Arihara.

According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Texas Rangers are one of many teams interested in the 31-year old Tomoyuki Sugano and the 28-year old Kohei Arihara, both from Japan.

The 31-year old Sugano is coming off of a stellar season with Nippon Professional Baseball’s (NPB) Yomiuri Giants, posting a 1.97 ERA and finishing second in the Sawamura Award (NPB equivalent to the MLB’s Cy Young Award).

In 1,326 career innings with Yomiuri, Sugano has pitched to a 2.34 ERA and has won two total Sawamura Awards.

Passan cited a scout who projects him as a possible No.3 starter upon his arrival to the United States.

For interested teams, Sugano’s posting window is only open until January 7, 2021.

In the case of the Texas Rangers, Sugano would be an interesting fit.

After dealing Lance Lynn to the White Sox just a short while ago, the Rangers need starting pitching depth.

Kyle Gibson, Jordan Lyles and the newly-acquired Dane Dunning look to be locks in the rotation, with Kyle Cody being the leading internal candidate to fill another rotation spot.

Sugano would immediately fill a hole in the Texas rotation, and would give them an upgrade over Kolby Allard and some of their younger pitchers.

Another pitcher of interest is Kohei Arihara, a 28-year old right hander whose window closes on December 26.

Having shown signs of greatness, he has seen his numbers fluctuate in recent years.

Arihara posted a 2.46 ERA in 2019 and followed that up with a 3.46 ERA in 2020.

He owns a career ERA of 3.65 over 140 professional games.

Both Sugano and Arihara could be interesting options for Texas, especially with their history of bringing players over from Japan and their particular relationship with the NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters.

That relationship and the time Texas has spent scouting in Japan has helped them land several players from the NPB in the past, including Yu Darvish, Colby Lewis and more recently, Joely Rodriguez.

All that is to say, the Texas Rangers definitely have a shot at one of the two Japanese stars.

Sugano and Arihara would not be difference makers for Texas, but they could help solidify the Rangers’ rotation.

If all else fails, the team could flip either of them at the deadline for prospects should they perform well.

If the Rangers do decide to pursue Sugano or Arihara, I would expect them to make an offer similar to those of Mike Minor, Lance Lynn and Kyle Gibson.

A multi-year deal around $28-30 million would be fair for pitchers of their caliber.

Sugano and/or Arihara would be great fits for the Texas Rangers at the right price. They would give a young rotation some veteran presences, fill holes in the rotation and could be valuable trade pieces if they pitch well.