Free agent left-hander Toshiya Sugiuchi said Monday he will leave the Japan Series champion Fukuoka Softbank Hawks to join the Yomiuri Giants.
"I've decided to start a new chapter of my career," Sugiuchi said after notifying the Hawks of his decision at the club's office in Fukuoka.
The Hawks will go into the 2012 season without three members of their starting rotation — Sugiuchi, D.J. Houlton and Tsuyoshi Wada, who combined to win 43 games, almost half of the team's 88 wins out of 144 regular-season games.
Houlton has signed a two-year, $5 million deal with Yomiuri, while Wada will begin a major league career with the Baltimore Orioles next year.