As the Orioles look for additional pitching, they turned to one of the most accomplished hurlers in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan.

Baltimore signed right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano on Monday to a one-year major league deal, the club announced. The contract is worth $13 million, a source with direct knowledge confirmed, as ESPN reported first.

The 35-year-old Sugano has spent his entire 12-year career with the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB’s Central League, and he’s the league’s reigning MVP after posting a 1.67 ERA in 156 2/3 innings. In his 24 starts, Sugano struck out 111 batters and issued just 16 walks. And only six of the 132 hits against him were home runs.

Sugano holds a career 2.43 ERA and is a three-time Central League MVP (2014, 2020 and 2024). He has a six-pitch arsenal, according to a scouting report from Yahoo Sports, and he wasn’t required to go through the traditional posting process many Japanese stars must before joining Major League Baseball because he has completed the requisite nine years in NPB.

Sugano doesn’t blow batters away. At one time, his fastball hummed at 98 mph, but in 2024 his four-seamer averaged 92 mph, according to ESPN. He also uses a two-seamer, slider, cutter, splitter and curveball. In 2017, pitching for Japan in the World Baseball Classic, Sugano faced Team USA in the semifinal. He allowed one unearned run in six innings during Japan’s loss to the U.S.

Kodai Kawamura, a Japanese baseball writer for Full Count, said in an interview with The Baltimore Banner that Sugano’s splitter allowed an opposing batting average of .173 against it, and said the offering could be a strong change-of-pace pitch in Sugano’s transition to the majors.

“His command is excellent,” Kawamura said. “Takashi Saito, for example, went to the U.S. at [a similar] age as Sugano and was also successful. ... He throws all of his breaking pitches with high accuracy and has good control.”

Sugano will be an intriguing candidate for the starting rotation, but it’s possible he fits into a long reliever role if he doesn’t break camp as a starter. Baltimore has searched for additional starting pitching this offseason and could remain engaged in a deal to bring back right-hander Corbin Burnes — or swing a trade for one of several available starters — but Sugano is an interesting addition because of his command and pitch-to-contact tendencies.

He’ll join a starting rotation competition that includes Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott, Albert Suárez and Trevor Rogers. The Orioles also expect midseason returns from Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells.

Sugano isn’t the biggest-name Japanese pitcher to make the jump to MLB this winter. That’s Rōki Sasaki, a 23-year-old right-hander who impressed in the Pacific League in 2024 by recording a 2.35 ERA. Sasaki, a fireballer, has been at the forefront of many teams’ offseason wish lists.

Koby Perez, Baltimore’s vice president of international scouting, said at the winter meetings that the Orioles would do their “due diligence” with the Japanese pitcher. It remains to be seen whether acquiring a compatriot could help their case.

Should Sugano debut for the Orioles, he would be the third player born in Japan to play for the club, joining right-handers Koji Uehara and Shintaro Fujinami.