Rangers eyeing Japanese star Teruaki Sato could cause major waves across the roster

The Texas Rangers have had a handful of Japanese players don their uniform over the years, but the club has only made one true splash in the Asian market. That came under the old posting system, when the Rangers coughed up a $51.7 million posting fee for exclusive negotiation rights with Yu Darvish, who they'd ultimately sign to a six-year, $60 million contract in January of 2012.

Times have changed since then. The posting system has been overhauled to the point where MLB clubs no longer negotiate with their NPB counterpart for posting fees to gain an exclusive window, and instead the bidding is open to all 30 teams, with a preset fee related to the total value of the player's contract being sent to his former team in Japan at the close of the signing. As a result, we've seen the majority of Japanese stars prefer to land on the West Coast, with the Los Angeles Dodgers dominating.

Texas could be looking to change that. It's been reported that the Rangers, along with the Philadelphia Phillies, had scouts in attendance for the final game of the Central League Climax Series, with their eyes on Hanshin Tigers superstar Teruaki Sato.

Sato is a 27-year-old third baseman who has also spent some time playing left field and has put up a scorching .306/.383/.609 line with 39 homers and 106 RBI en route to the Central League Triple Crown this season. The Hanshin Tigers have just announced that they will approve his posting this offseason.

The Rangers signing Teruaki Sato could lead to a flurry of other moves involving Josh Jung and/or Jake Burger

2026 was the culmination of Sato's ascendance to superstar status. In 2025, he clocked 40 dingers while slashing .277/.345/.579; however, prior to that, the lefty slugger had never hit more than 24 homers in a single season and was coming off a 16-homer campaign in 2024.

The six-year NPB vet has an impressive profile, with a 55.3% hard-hit rate, 93.8 miles per hour 50th-percentile exit velocity, 117.2 miles per hour max exit velocity, and a whopping 18.4% barrel rate in 2026. He also posted a 29.5 feet-per-second top sprint speed that would be among the fastest in baseball.

That sounds like the kind of dynamic and athletic player that fits what Chris Young says the team is seeking to add to the roster this offseason. There are some drawbacks, though.

Mainly, Sato chases pitches out of the zone at a very high rate, coming in at 32.6%, and swings and misses frequently, posting a 32.4% whiff rate. The combination of those two factors has led to some middling contact rates. So while he has elite power, there's cause for concern that the higher velocities and overall better pitching in the MLB can give him trouble. Additionally, there is some belief that his defense will force him to first base.

That could have him as a Munetaka Murakami-type figure. The White Sox star was expected to get a huge payday, but instead had to settle for a two-year, $34 million contract last winter. This year, he hit just .207 but swatted 35 taters. Murakami and fellow NPB veteran Kazuma Okamoto landed in uncommon places last offseason, with the latter signing with the Toronto Blue Jays. If that trend continues, a club like Texas might have a better shot than we think to come away with Sato.

If the Rangers were to sign Sato, it would likely set off a domino effect throughout the rest of the roster. He's a left-handed bat, but if he were to end up at first base, would the Rangers really pay Jake Burger a projected $6.9 million to serve as a platoon bat who only plays roughly 30% of the time against lefties? Burger could certainly use a platoon partner, but the money Sato might command would make a platoon an expensive proposition. At that point, the beefy first baseman might have more value on the trade market, where clubs are always looking for right-handed power, than he does on the Rangers' roster.

The other player potentially impacted would be Josh Jung. If Texas were to believe that Sato could handle the hot corner, what does that mean for Jung? There are three possible outcomes. Jung's glove was a liability in 2026, so a move across the diamond (again displacing Burger) could be in the cards. He could also become nearly a full-time DH if the Rangers let Joc Pederson walk. Finally, the free-agent market is slim pickings at third, so the Rangers could capitalize on needy teams and flip him for a player who better fits the roster's needs.

Finally, there's the Sebastian Walcott of it all. If the phenom were to break camp with the big league club and the team signed Sato, it could create a scenario where both Burger and Jung are shown the door.

First things first, the Rangers need to decide whether or not the powerful yet flawed Sato is worthy of a premium investment. Then, they'd have to win the bidding war. But if they do, it could set up some interesting scenarios for the rest of the offseason. What we know for sure is that they at least had enough interest to want to see Sato in person. From there, what happens is anyone's guess.

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