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NPB slugger Teruaki Sato hots a double during the World Baseball Classic back in March.
The New York Yankees will have to move quickly if they want to sign Teruaki Sato.
The combination of the Japanese player posting rules and the timeline of a pending MLB lockout on Dec. 1 means that Sato will be signing with a major league team at some point in November.
The Yankees are almost surely interested, and they’re a number of analysts’ pick to land Sato in the end.
Sato is a left-handed hitting, slugging third baseman who would fit nicely both in Yankee Stadium and in a weak link in the Yankees’ lineup.
The latest prediction for Sato includes the Yankees as one of his possible landing spots.
Teruaki Sato Yankees Prediction
MLB Trade Rumors released its annual free agent predictions, and their writer Darragh McDonald predicts that Sato will sign with the Yankees.
Their other two predictions have Sato landing with the A’s or the Angels.
It’s an interesting trio, because it doesn’t include teams like the Dodgers, Mets or Blue Jays which other publications have suggested will be heavily involved for Sato.
Still, for Yankees fans, the idea that the Yanks appear to be in the picture is good news.
MLB Trade Rumors writes:
“Everyone’s flying a bit blind when it comes to NPB stars, but Sato has a lot working in his favor as he prepares to make the move to MLB. The Reds, Cardinals, Angels, Yankees, Mariners, Phillies and A’s were among the teams that got the least production out of third base last year. Not all of those clubs are going to be in on Sato at this price, of course, but they should all have some degree of interest. Teams with available at-bats at first base, designated hitter and/or in the outfield corners could also jump into the fray.”
Teruaki Sato Contract Projection
MLB Trade Rumors projects that Sato will sign a five-year deal for $80 million, which works out to $16 million per year.
That’s a lower outlook than some publications, but it likely prices in some of the risk of bringing over a player from NPB.
Last offseason, Kazuma Okamoto signed for four years and $60 million with the Blue Jays, so it’d work out to slightly more than that.
MLB Trade Rumors writes: “If even one team thinks Sato has the tools to be an average or above-average defender at third base, he could well command a nine-figure deal. We’re betting that he’ll settle in closer to the range that (Seiya) Suzuki (five years, $85MM) and Masataka Yoshida (five years, $90MM) landed.”
The Yankees should certainly get involved in that bidding.
Billy Heyen Billy Heyen is a Heavy contributor with focus on the NFL and MLB. He is a 2019 graduate of Syracuse University who spent his senior year following Jim Boeheim’s basketball team around the country. His reporting work has also included extensive work for The Sporting News, the Sandusky Register and Rochester’s Democrat & Chronicle. Adventures in sports writing have also led to in-person coverage of the Buffalo Sabres, Cleveland Guardians, U.S. men’s national soccer team and a variety of minor league baseball stories. More about Billy Heyen