It simply wasn't the right time for Tomoyuki Sugano.
After sacrificing one year of his career for the Yomiuri Giants — after the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters won his rights in the 2011 draft — and then giving the Kyojin eight seasons of elite-level pitching, the door to MLB finally opened for Sugano via the posting system this year.
What lay on the other side, however, was a tepid free agent market, a bunch of teams crying poverty and an ongoing pandemic that continues to make the situation unpredictable on and off the diamond in North America. It was enough to convince Sugano to close the door, for now, on his dream of playing in the majors.