Hanshin Tigers infielder Teruaki Sato is pictured in an at-bat during a Central League baseball game against the Yakult Swallows at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, on Oct. 2, 2025. (Kyodo)
==Kyodo
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The largest name on Major League Baseball’s international free-agent market is up for grabs, as Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato has been posted by his NPB club, the Hanshin Tigers.
Sato and his representation could formally begin negotiating with MLB clubs on Monday. Under normal circumstances, there would be a 45-day window to negotiate and potentially sign the 27-year-old, which would expire on Dec. 16. However, with MLB’s collective bargaining agreement set to expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, and with a lockout looming, there will likely be two fewer weeks to nab the star’s signature.
If Sato does not find a home in the majors, he will be returned to his club in Hanshin.
The left-handed infielder’s stock could not be much higher after winning the Central League’s Triple Crown in 2026, batting .306 with 39 home runs and 106 RBI. It secured his second straight Central League MVP award.
No other team in the majors has been linked to Sato as strongly as the Mets, who would likely try to convert the third baseman into a first baseman in hopes of rectifying the mess David Stearns created after letting Pete Alonso walk in free agency. Stearns personally went to scout Sato in Japan over the summer.
The Mets’ president of baseball operations did the same last season with Munetaka Murakami, who ultimately signed with the Chicago White Sox and launched 35 home runs in his rookie season.
Murakami and Sato share similarities in their games, which could indicate how the latter’s jump to North America might go. Murakami possessed a 28.8% strikeout rate in Japan in his two full seasons, and it jumped to a concerning 35.4% in Chicago. Sato has a 27% strikeout rate with Hanshin.
Still, his power would be a no-brainer for the Mets to pursue, especially with the first-base free-agent market so thin. It is the best way to provide a jolt at the position rather than relying on the same trio of Jorge Polanco, Jared Young, and Brett Baty.
For more on Teruaki Sato and the Mets, visit AMNY.com
