Red Sox linked to $13 million AL East rival star pitcher to replace Dustin May in backend of rotation

The Boston Red Sox are having trouble with their starting rotation; outside of the Big Three of Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, and Lucas Giolito, they have no quality starters. 

Fansided’s Christopher Kline believes the Sox could get a quality backend of the rotation in Baltimore Orioles star Tomoyuki Sugano, who he believes will leave the team this offseason.

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Sugano won't pile up strikeouts, but he can pitch to contact and eat innings, with a varied pitch arsenal at his disposal. He also plans to pitch in 2026, although it's probably not with the Orioles for... reasons. Sugano is a 35-year-old rookie. He's on an accelerated competitive timeline in MLB and he won't want to stick around a losing situation unless there's a hearty contract on the table. Baltimore would probably regret letting Sugano walk to a nearby rival like New York or Boston, which feels distinctly plausible, as his ceiling is higher than his numbers suggest. Sugano was putting up ace-like numbers for a solid stretch before the All-Star break,” Kline wrote. 

While Sugano’s season numbers of a 10-9 record, 4.45 ERA, 103 strikeouts, and WHIP of 1.336 don’t seem all that great, they’re much better than the Sox’ current fifth starter, Dustin May. 

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With the Sox, May has a record of 1-4 with a 5.40 ERA and only 26 strikeouts in six appearances. He never fit in, and probably will be let go after this season.

Enter Sugano. He’s got a mid-four ERA, but he’s able to eat innings, and has shown that his numbers do not necessarily reflect his talent. Hopefully the Sox take a run at him with a short deal, either one or two years, and lock down that end of the rotation.

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