SARASOTA, Fla. — “Perfecto.”

That was the first word out of Gary Sánchez’s mouth when asked about his new teammate’s first bullpen session as an Oriole.

“Everything was easy,” Sánchez said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “He looked great.”

Tomoyuki Sugano arrived at Orioles spring training Saturday with a rare combination of hype and uncertainty surrounding him. It was only a 35-pitch bullpen, but the Japanese superstar confirmed the former and quieted the latter Tuesday.

Sugano showcased the elite command and diverse repertoire that made him one of the most accomplished pitchers in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball history. While he wasn’t throwing with 100% effort, the 35-year-old MLB rookie showed off five of his six pitches and was consistently around the strike zone.

Throughout his session, with a large contingent of Japanese media watching alongside local reporters, Sánchez and pitching coach Drew French nodded in approval and a few times said “nice” or “wow” when Sugano painted the corner with a four-seam fastball or perfectly located a splitter.

“It’s everything that was advertised when we started vetting him in free agency,” French said. “That’s what our scouts said, and our [organization] loves — we think at times it’s going to be 80[-grade] command. It was really, really good.”

Sánchez said he was most impressed when Sugano would throw a low four-seam fastball so accurately that Sánchez didn’t have to move his glove.

“I felt like I could close my eyes and the ball would land in my mitt,” the veteran catcher said. “The command and the way he controlled his pitches was really impressive.”

Before Sugano’s bullpen session, manager Brandon Hyde spoke highly of his interactions thus far with the veteran right-hander. Hyde was impressed by Sugano’s first statement to his teammates when he arrived from Tokyo shortly after an 18-hour flight: “Let’s go win a world championship.”

Hyde said the Orioles will treat Sugano, whom they signed for $13 million this offseason, “like a veteran” and not just like a player who is new to MLB. Baltimore’s coaching staff will give Sugano space to prepare the way he sees fit and assist him along the way. “He’s definitely earned that,” Hyde said.

Still, the adjustment to MLB won’t be easy — though most Japanese stars eventually acclimate just fine — so Hyde urged to “not rush to judgment early.” Sugano, after all, did go 15-3 with a 1.67 ERA for the Yomiuri Giants last season in what’s considered the second-best baseball league in the world.

“He’s a guy that’s accomplished great things in Japan with an unbelievable track record and a ton of experience. But this is his first time being over here,” Hyde said. “We’re going to treat him as a guy that’s pitched a lot of innings in high-level baseball for a long time and been really, really good at it.”

Sánchez joined the Orioles this offseason, too, on an $8.5 million contract to back up Adley Rutschman. The former Yankees backstop has experience catching Japanese pitchers, including Masahiro Tanaka with New York and Yu Darvish with the San Diego Padres. Sánchez said he’s been taught a few Japanese words, but he wouldn’t repeat them because “they’re bad words,” he said with a chuckle.

Sánchez, Rutschman, French and the rest of the Orioles’ pitching coaches joined a video call with Sugano before spring training to get acquainted and talk shop. But Sánchez was even more confident Tuesday that Sugano’s adjustment to MLB will be smooth.

“He’s a veteran pitcher, very experienced. I think he’s going to do just fine,” Sánchez said. “Obviously, we have a lot of good people here, really good pitching coaches. We’re going to do everything in our power to help him get there.”

Sugano, whose media sessions are split in half with English questions first and Japanese ones second, said he was pleased with his command. He could tell by throwing to Sánchez that he had experience catching Japanese pitchers.

“Especially for Gary Sánchez, he was catching for Masahiro Tanaka before,” Sugano said through team interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “I think he understands how to catch Japanese pitchers. It was very easy to pitch to him.”

Sugano practiced five of his six pitches — four-seam fastball, cutter, curveball, splitter and sinker — during the bullpen session, holding off on the slider for now. His deep arsenal allows him to attack both right- and left-handed hitters. While he is more of a pitch-to-contact pitcher at this stage in his career, Sugano’s splitter, curveball and slider are seen as his best putaway pitches.

“We think there’s a way to fit all those pieces into one really nice puzzle,” French said.

Around the horn

Jordan Westburg will spend more time at third base this spring after splitting his defensive reps between third and second base last season. Hyde said Westburg, an All-Star last season, will keep second base “in his back pocket” and still take some grounders there. This could open up second base for 21-year-old Jackson Holliday to take over if he’s able.

Hyde knows who will start the Orioles’ Grapefruit League opener Saturday at Ed Smith Stadium, but he’s not willing to share yet. He quizzed reporters on what pitcher started his first Grapefruit League opener in 2019, to which someone correctly answered Yefry Ramírez. “It’s not Yefry Ramírez this year,” Hyde quipped.

Rutschman showed off his left-handed power Monday by homering twice during live batting practice, once off Grayson Rodriguez and another off Albert Suárez. Tuesday, he blasted three straight homers during regular batting practice from the right side. Hyde said he’s encouraged by how well Rutschman is swinging the bat early in spring training. “He’s really inspired right now,” the seventh-year skipper said. During live batting practice Tuesday, Rutschman lined an opposite-field single — a positive sign after Hyde said the switch-hitter’s swing got “too long” during his second-half slump last year.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.