The Padre arms could be getting a boost come July 31.
In a season where the San Diego Padres' kryptonite has been their pitching, the team could very much be on their way to solving that issue as the MLB trade deadline inches closer.
Tomoyuki Sugano, a starting pitcher with the AL East's struggling Baltimore Orioles, has emerged as a lead candidate to provide relief to the ailing San Diego rotation that has already seen Michael King struggle with injuries, Dylan Cease struggling in general, Yu Darvish just recently made his season debut after suffering from elbow inflammation right before the start of the season.
Soguno, who is in his rookie season in Major League Baseball, signed with Baltimore during the offseason after spending 12 years with the Yomiuri Giants of the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
Though Soguno's velocity has dipped over the years, veraging from 98 during college to around 92 now for his two fastballs, Soguno is skilled at getting outs using more finesse pitches such as a slider, a cutter, a curveball, and even a forkball.
"Soguno isn't for everyone. As of this writing, he has more starts with two or fewer strikeouts than starts with five-plus punchouts," wrote R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports. "He's also 35 years old and an impending free agent, limiting his long-term value. Nonetheless, he has excelled at managing contact behind his pinpoint command over a broad arsenal."
With the Orioles' struggling season possibly forcing them to be sellers at the break, Soguno could easily find his way out of the team and in the 4 or 5 spot on a team's starting rotation, no matter how many strikeouts he puts together.
Category: Baseball
