Teruaki Sato of the Hanshin Tigers has entered the Major League Baseball posting system and must sign with a big league team by Dec. 1.
Posted players usually have 45 days to sign, but the league is setting a new deadline that will force Sato and other posted stars to sign before a potential lockout. It's unlikely that Sato won't find a team by then. He won the Central League Triple Crown last season and should win his second consecutive Central League MVP Award this year.
Sato can play third base, which is a position of need for the New York Yankees, and The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal expects them to be involved in his free agency.
"The Yankees probably could use him most at third base," Rosenthal said on Foul Territory. "Ryan McMahon has one more year on his contract, and they could easily replace him. Maybe send him somewhere else and do something else with him. He's a fit, and I expect the Yankees to be involved in the Sato market."
Sato could directly replace McMahon at third base, and Anthony Volpe could open the year at second base, after having a resurgent return to the big leagues after his demotion. Even though Sato slashed .306/.383/.609 with 39 home runs, he is not a perfect player.
"Sato is a guy who is a third baseman, but there are teams that question if he stays at that position," Rosenthal said on Foul Territory. "Maybe he becomes a second baseman. Maybe he becomes an outfielder. First base would be another possibility, but that would probably be a last resort. He bears some similarities to (Munetaka) Murakami with that question of his position coming over from Japan, and also the high strikeout rate. He's a guy who is also coming off a Triple Crown in Japan. He's considered a better pure hitter than Murakami is. He has a high strikeout rate; he also had a big season."
Murakami ended up signing a shorter, less lucrative deal than many expected due to concerns about his strikeouts. Murakami ended up being an All-Star, and teams may look at that as a reason to sign Sato despite the strikeouts. He has hit 79 home runs in the last two seasons and could be great for the Yankees.
Sato, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice in the same lineup could account for over 100 home runs alone.