David Stearns has already made one trip to Japan to lay eyes on a top NPB bat, and now he appears to be doing it again.
According to SNY’s Chelsea Janes, Stearns went to see Teruaki Sato in person in Japan right after the Mets’ season ended. That kind of move usually sends a message, and in this case the message is pretty clear: don’t assume Sato is just another name on a board.
“Don’t rule out Teruaki Sato as a big addition.
Stearns went to see him in Japan firsthand as soon as the Mets' season… pic.twitter.com/bsYG2qshuX
- SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) October 28, 2026
Sato just finished a monster triple-crown season, batting .306 with 39 homers and 106 RBIs. He also posted a 192 wRC+ and has 79 home runs over the last two seasons combined, with a slugging percentage that has hovered near .600 in that span.
The power is obvious. The concern is the swing-and-miss.
Sato struck out 26.7% of the time in 2026, and there are questions about how that kind of profile will hold up in MLB. Still, with a very thin free-agent market for bats, teams may be willing to bet on the upside of a 27-year-old with that kind of production.
The Mets’ issue is less about whether Sato can hit and more about where he would play. He has spent almost all of his time at third base and right field, with only two innings at second base in 2022 and one game in left field in 2025. Those spots are already crowded after Bo Bichette decided to stay with the Mets, and Carson Benge is locked in as the starter in right field after his strong rookie season.
That doesn’t completely shut the door. The Mets could try Sato or Bichette at second and keep the other at third, or they could put Sato at the hot corner and ease some of the defensive pressure as he adjusts to the majors. It isn’t a clean fit, but it is a workable one.
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It also brings to mind a Mets-Reds rookie showdown that still lingers in the memory, the 1968 race between Jerry Koosman and Johnny Bench. That one ended with Bench taking the award after a vote that was closer than the final margin might suggest, and the season itself offered plenty of numbers for voters to weigh. This years version may be easier to sort out, but for Mets fans, any rookie race with Cincinnati in the middle of it is going to stir old instincts and fresh hope at the same time. [Read more 🡒]