The Colorado Rockies are not close to being a winning baseball team, but they are slowly getting on the right track.

The Rockies improved from a disastrous, franchise-worst season in 2025, in which they went 43-119, to a 58-104 record this season. Sure, Colorado lost more than 100 games for the fourth season in a row, but improvement cannot be overlooked.

If the Rockies want to make more meaningful improvements, they seriously need to overhaul their pitching staff, but would it be worth it to bring back veteran right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano for another season?

There is no point in mincing words — the Rockies' pitching staff was a disaster in 2026, just as it was in 2025. 

The results on the mound were so bad that Colorado did not waste much time in firing pitching coach Alon Leichman after just one season, but Sugano was something of an outlier among those who regularly were in the starting rotation.

In his first season with the Rockies, Sugano went 12-12 with a 5.37 ERA in 29 starts and 154.1 innings of work. His numbers weren't great, but in a lot of ways, he was much better than those around him. 

The next closest pitcher on staff in the starting rotation that was in the realm of going .500 was Ryan Feltner. He finished with a 7-10 record with a 5.40 ERA in 26 appearances, 22 of which were starts.

Sugano's career path has been unorthodox, to say the least. He spent most of his career playing in Japan and did not sign his first Major League Baseball contract until before the 2025 season, when he signed with the Baltimore Orioles. 

On March 30, 2025, Sugano made his MLB debut at 35 years and 170 days old, making him the oldest Japanese player to make his debut since former New York Mets left-hander Ken Takahashi, who was 40 years and 16 days old in 2009.

After one season with Baltimore, Sugano elected free agency on Nov. 2, 2025, and by Feb. 10, he had signed a deal with Colorado. 

With the trade deadline approaching on Aug. 3, it seemed as if Sugano would be one of the players on his way out. However, he remained with the organization, and he has taken the time in the past to express his gratitude to the Rockies.

Sugano is far from an elite pitcher, and he is aging, but his numbers in 2026 were good enough to warrant some consideration by the front office about keeping him for another season. He played the 2026 campaign on a one-year, $5.1 million deal, and there is reason to believe that the Rockies could bring him back at a similar number.