Will Sugano Be in Rockies' Future Plans?

Ahead of the 2026 Major League Baseball Trade Deadline, most of the attention was on what the Colorado Rockies were going to do with Hunter Goodman.

The two-time All-Star catcher had become a mainstay in trade rumors, but President of Baseball Operations Paul DePodesta and the front office ultimately chose to keep him and other quality players.

While Goodman’s name was getting the bulk of the spotlight, someone who flew under the radar as a candidate the Rockies could have moved was 36-year-old right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano. 

Sugano must have believed his time might be coming to an end with the organization, too, because after he started in a win over the Kansas City Royals on July 31, Sugano expressed a message of gratitude aimed at the Rockies’ fanbase and the organization.

Sugano is only in his first season with Colorado after signing as a free agent in February, and now that he has made it past the Trade Deadline, as long as he is not designated for assignment (unlikely), he is safe for the rest of the season. 

Yet is there a chance Sugano could be playing in the Mile High City beyond 2026?

After the Trade Deadline passed, DePodesta talked about having the foundation for what could be a good team in the future, and it is worth wondering if Sugano is part of that foundation DePodesta is referencing.

Sure, it is easier to look at players such as Goodman and Jake McCarthy, who are in their prime years and have multiple seasons to go until they hit unrestricted free agency, as being in that equation more than it is to view a 36-year-old on a one-year deal, but nothing about Sugano’s career has been conventional, and that might play in his favor.

Sugano did not make his MLB debut until he was 35 years old after spending the bulk of his professional baseball career in Japan, but he has now landed with two clubs, which is more than former New York Mets left-hander Ken Takahashi can say, who Sugano joins as the oldest Japanese player to make their MLB debut.

Takahashi only lasted the 2009 campaign with the Mets, but Sugano is going strong, and he has been the bright spot in the Rockies’ starting rotation. While pitchers such as Kyle Freeland and Michael Lorenzen are having abysmal years where their records are 3-10, and their ERA’s are climbing toward 7.00, Sugano is 11-5 with a 4.51 ERA.

Maybe, just maybe, Sugano's runway with the Rockies will not end after this season. He thinks highly of the organization, and Colorado saw enough value in him not to move him, and that is a good start to a more solidified future between the two parties.