NISHINOMIYA, Japan — Hanshin Tigers third baseman Teruaki Sato, the reigning Central League MVP, is expected to be posted for major league teams in early November, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Passan wrote Thursday that Sato could become the first reigning position-player MVP from Nippon Professional Baseball to join the majors since Hideki Matsui in 2003.
This season, Sato is hitting .320/.398/.636 with 35 home runs and 92 RBIs in 122 games, according to Passan. Sato leads the Central League in batting average, home runs, and RBIs, and he also leads the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
Sato needs to go through the posting system because he has not played the nine seasons required for international free agency. Players posted from Japan have 45 days to sign once their windows open. Passan reported that pitchers Kaima Taira and Hiromi Itoh are also expected to be posted in early November, and he wrote that all three are expected to sign before the collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1.
Teruaki Sato’s Profile and the Questions Teams Have
Sato is 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds and hits left-handed. He has 135 strikeouts in 520 plate appearances this season. Passan wrote that teams prefer him at third base or in a corner outfield spot, while some see him at first base.
From 2023 to 2024, Sato committed an NPB-worst 43 errors at third base, Just Baseball reported. He cut that total to 6 errors in 2025.
Passan compared Sato’s profile with that of Munetaka Murakami, who joined the Chicago White Sox on a two-year deal. Passan wrote that Sato relies far less on home runs, walks, and strikeouts than Murakami, has a better chance to stay off first base, and has been more consistent in recent seasons. He also wrote that many teams regret not pursuing Murakami more aggressively after Murakami’s big first season in Chicago.
In his 2025 MVP season, Sato hit .277/.345/.579 with 40 home runs and 102 RBIs. He also won a Golden Glove and a Best Nine award that year.
Teruaki Sato’s Career and the Teams Watching Him
Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported that the New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Dodgers have been linked to Sato, according to Sportsnaut. MLB Trade Rumors has also listed the New York Mets among the interested teams, Yahoo Sports reported.
Sato was born March 13, 1999, in Nishinomiya, the home city of the Tigers, and made his NPB debut March 26, 2021. He is a four-time NPB All-Star and won the Japan Series with Hanshin in 2023. The Tigers reached the Japan Series again in 2025 and lost to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in five games.
At the 2026 World Baseball Classic, Sato batted second for Japan in the quarterfinal against Venezuela and hit .300/.417/.600 across five tournament games, Just Baseball reported. Hanshin previously declined to post pitcher Hiroto Saiki, according to the same report.
