A handful of big-market clubs are heading into the winter with the same problem spot, and it could turn the third-base market into a full-on race. The Phillies, Yankees and Red Sox are all among the teams expected to take a hard look at the hot corner, and one name is already being linked to all three: Japanese superstar Teruaki Sato.
The Yankees, in particular, have spent the last couple of seasons trying to patch together third base. They even had Jazz Chisholm Jr. learn the position on the fly after acquiring him at the 2024 trade deadline, and since then they’ve brought in Ryan McMahon, Amed Rosario and Jose Caballero to help cover the spot.
None of them have fully locked it down. McMahon has been the biggest miss, with his glove still playing above average but his offense dragging down the bottom of the lineup.
The Phillies are facing their own uncertainty with Alec Bohm. He got off to a rough start, but his season stabilized as it went along.
Bohm finished with a .249/.315/.383 slash line, 15 home runs and 88 RBI, and he has positioned himself as a real free-agent option. Even so, it remains unclear whether Philadelphia wants to keep him.
The club is trying to get younger, and another long-term deal for a veteran may not be the direction it prefers.
That uncertainty is why Jim Bowden sees a potential bidding war developing. He wrote that some teams view Sato as a third baseman, while others think he fits best at first base or in left field. Bowden still believes the bat belongs in the middle of the order and said he would be a strong match for the Phillies, Red Sox, Angels and Yankees, pointing to a big-market competition for his services.
Sato would arrive with plenty of momentum. He is coming off a 39-homer season and won the Triple Crown, and he also has the defensive tools to handle third base. For clubs searching for more stability at the position, that combination makes him one of the most intriguing names on the market.
In Other News...
Red Sox Make Another Quiet 40-Man Roster Move
The Red Sox cleared another bit of offseason roster space Sunday, sending infielder Tsung-Che Cheng to the Tigers for cash considerations. It is the kind of move that barely registers outside the front office, but it speaks to how Boston continues to sort through the edges of its 40-man roster while making room for the next wave of decisions.
Cheng spent one season in the organization after arriving in Boston, getting into 13 big league games while also logging time at Triple-A Worcester. His work there included eight home runs and a .241/.345/.390 line, enough to keep him in the mix as a depth infielder even as the Red Sox chose to move on and Detroit took a look at adding him to its own roster picture. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Durbins First Red Sox Season Looks Different After This Revelation
Caleb Durbins first season with the Red Sox had already been notable for the way he handled himself at third base, where he emerged as an American League Gold Glove finalist. What has come into sharper focus now is how much he was managing behind the scenes, with Boston aware during the season that he was dealing with more than one physical issue while still taking the field day after day.
Durbin recently underwent a second offseason surgery, this one on his right foot to address an older injury involving the fifth metatarsal and a tendon, following an earlier procedure on his left pinkie finger. The Red Sox knew about both injuries as the season unfolded, and his ability to keep playing through them adds another layer to what was already a strong defensive debut in Boston. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Still Have Tough Roster Calls Coming Before Monday
The calendar is pushing the Red Sox into a familiar kind of late-October housekeeping, with Mondays roster deadline forcing some hard decisions before players can come off the 60-day injured list. Boston still needs to clear seven spots, and the front office has already handled part of the math by moving on from Patrick Sandoval and Isiah Kiner-Falefa and sending Nate Eaton to the Athletics for 18-year-old pitcher Jareth Rayo.
Even after those moves, there is still work to do, and the next round of cuts figures to be more complicated because it will involve players who may have some value, not just empty spots to free up. The Red Sox have a few more roster decisions queued up as they sort through who stays, who goes and who gets squeezed off the 40-man before Mondays deadline arrives. [Read more 🡒]