The Rockies were in such dire straits last season, they were forced to rush young arms into their major-league rotation well before they were ready. The result was a starters’ collective earned-run average that was the worst in the modern era of major-league history, yet another indignity in a wretched season piled with them.

Avoiding that fate means bolstering the depth of their major-league rotation. Stop-gap, short-term solutions are fine, so long as they allow the Rockies to avoid pushing developing pitchers into the big-league fire before they’re ready.

Last month, that meant bringing aboard right-hander Michael Lorenzen, an All-Star as recently as 2023. Tuesday, that manifested in the addition of Japanese right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, who notched a 1.331 WHIP and a 4.64 ERA over 30 starts for the Baltimore Orioles last year in his only major-league season.

Sugano agreed to a one-year, $5.1-million deal. He takes the roster spot vacated by Kris Bryant; the Rockies moved him to the 60-day injured list due to his ongoing, persistent back problems.

The 36-year-old Sugano joined the Orioles after 12 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of the Central League in Japan. For most of his time with the Giants, he dazzled, posting a 1.035 WHIP and a 2.45 ERA.

The Rockies’ rotation now projects to include Kyle Freeland, Lorenzen, Sugano and Ryan Feltner, with a host of young pitchers grappling for the No. 5 spot, including 2023 first-round pick Chase Dollander, who had a rookie season that was as flummoxing as it was promising, with mammoth road-home splits — a 3.46 road ERA contrasting with a 9.98 figure at Coors Field.

ROCKIES HOPE SUGANO CAN KEEP THE BALL IN THE YARD

In his only season with the O’s, Sugano’s trouble spot was the gopher ball. He surrendered an American League-leading 33 home runs, and his HR/9 rate of 1.89 was the fourth-worst in major-league baseball among 127 pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched.

He ended the season allowing at least one homer in six-consecutive starts, giving up 12 homers in those appearances. During those starts, his HR/9 rate ballooned to 4.21.

The Rockies will look for Sugano to try and recapture the form of his early-season work last year, when he posted a 3.04 ERA over his first 12 starts before struggling from that point forward.

Sugano notched 10 quality starts in his 30 appearances last year.

Rockies sign 2024 All-Star to two-year deal