Japan Baseball Star Sugano Announces MLB Bid

Tokyo, Oct. 5 (Jiji Press)--Japanese professional baseball pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano said Saturday that he will seek to join a U.S. Major League Baseball team as an international free agent this offseason.

"I have informed the team of my intention," said the 34-year-old right-hander of the Yomiuri Giants, one of the six teams in the Central League of the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization, or NPB. "I want to play over there," he told reporters after a practice session at Tokyo Dome, the Giants' home stadium.

The announcement came after U.S. media reported on his planned bid. "I feel sorry to people who learned about it through such reports," Sugano said.

It is his second attempt to join the majors, after he failed to reach a deal with an MLB team in his first bid using the posting system after the end of the 2020 season.

The Japanese baseball star played for Tokai University Sagami Senior High School and Tokai University before joining the Giants as the team's number one draft pick for 2012.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]