The Dodgers may be circling another Japanese import, and this one comes with serious pop.
According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, Los Angeles is expected to be in the mix for Hanshin Tigers infielder Teruaki Sato this winter. The Dodgers are listed alongside the Mets, Yankees and Phillies as teams with interest, adding another name to the growing list of overseas talents tied to LA.
Sato’s bat is doing the talking. Through 438 plate appearances this season, he’s hitting .317/.404/.622 with a 205 wRC+ and 27 home runs in 103 games. Power has been a constant part of his profile, too - he’s cleared the 20-homer mark in five of his six professional seasons, and he hit 40 last year.
That kind of production has already put Sato in position to land well above the deals signed by Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto last winter. Murakami agreed to a two-year, $34 million deal with the Chicago White Sox, while Okamoto landed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.
The fit in Los Angeles isn’t exactly clean on paper. Sato is known as a third baseman, though he has seen time in the outfield. As with Murakami, the expectation is that he would eventually move to first base after signing.
That’s where the Dodgers’ roster picture gets crowded. Max Muncy is under control through 2027 and has a club option for 2028, Freddie Freeman is signed through next season, and Teoscar Hernandez and Kyle Tucker are set in the corner outfield spots next year.
Even with that congestion, the Dodgers have never been shy about staying on elite talent, especially when it comes from Japan. This could be about looking ahead to a future replacement for Muncy or Freeman, or it could simply be Los Angeles doing what it often does: staying in the conversation and waiting to see how the market unfolds. Either way, Sato is one to watch once the offseason arrives.
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