The Yankees may be staring at another offseason third-base decision, and this one could send them back into a market they haven’t truly attacked in years.
Ryan McMahon still has another year with the club after the 2026 MLB season, but his fit has not gone the way the Yankees wanted after the trade. The way things look now, they’ll almost certainly explore ways to upgrade at the hot corner this winter. At this point, McMahon is basically being paid $16 million a year to handle the defense.
One name that’s surfaced as a possible answer is Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato.
That connection matters for more than just the position. If the Yankees pursue Sato, they’d also be stepping back into the hunt for Nippon Professional Baseball talent, a lane they haven’t seriously used since Masahiro Tanaka signed in January 2014. Since then, they’ve come up short or passed on stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Munetaka Murakami.
According to MLB insider Jon Heyman, the Yankees are among the teams linked to Sato, though the Mets are the leading suitors for now.
"Like Munetaka Murakami, who's thrived at 1B slugging for the White Sox, Sato, a former Central League MVP with a 1.026 OPS, has 'good pop' but is 'questionable' at 3B, via scouts," Heyman reported on Thursday. "The Yankees, Dodgers and Phillies also are linked to Sato."
The numbers help explain the appeal. Last season, Sato hit .317/.403/.620 with a 205 wRC+, along with 27 home runs and 76 RBIs. That followed his 2025 season with the Hanshin Tigers, when he took home Central League MVP honors after posting a .277/.345/.579 line with 40 home runs, 102 RBIs and an 182 wRC+.
For Yankees fans who want a more recent look, Sato appeared at the World Baseball Classic and went 3-for-10 in five games for Samurai Japan. He added a double and three walks.
Still, there’s plenty of reason to stay cautious. The Yankees have been tied to NPB stars before and rarely end up closing the deal. Even with their name showing up in early reports, they usually don’t get to the finish line.
That’s why Sato stands out as a chance to change the pattern. He could give the Yankees a real upgrade over McMahon and, just as importantly, bring them back into a market they’ve largely ignored for more than a decade. If they want that to happen, they’ll need to move before someone else beats them to it.
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