The Hanshin Tigers made it official today, announcing that Teruaki Sato will be released to Major League teams this offseason. This release has been rumored to be in the works for months, and at least five (and likely many more) MLB clubs have already expressed interest in the reigning Central League MVP.
Sato’s stock is high enough that MLBTR’s Steve Adams ranked him second among all free agents in the September edition of the Free Agent Rankings, which ranks players based on their earning potential. Sato is relatively young (he turns 28 in March), can play both third base and right field, and he has arguably been the best hitter in Nippon Professional Baseball over the past two seasons. That said, Sato is not considered a solid defender at either position, his strikeout and contact rates leave something to be desired, and there is standard uncertainty about how NPB’s star players will adapt to Major League Baseball.
Despite these concerns, Sato appears to benefit from a free agent class that is fairly thin on premium hitters. While Sato posted good power numbers in his first four seasons with the Tigers, he took things up a notch in 2025-26, earning MVP honors last season and quite possibly a repeat this year. The 2026 campaign saw Sato capture the Central League triple crown by recording 39 home runs and 106 RBIs along with a .306/.383/.609 slash line in 614 plate appearances.
It should be noted that Sato will not be officially shown until sometime after the NPB season ends. (The Japan Series is scheduled to begin Saturday, when the Yokohama DeNA BayStars take on the defending champion Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks.) Once posted, Sato will have 45 days to sign a contract with an MLB, and the Tigers will then receive a posting fee determined by the size of Sato’s deal. The fee would be 20 percent of the first $25 million of Sato’s guaranteed big league contract, 17.5 percent of the next $25 million and 15 percent of anything over the $50 million mark. If Sato does not sign within that 45-day deadline, he would return to the Tigers for the 2027 season.
The impending lockout and freeze of transactions from December 1 will add some uncertainty to its situation. The timing of the lockout essentially cuts Sato’s window in half, so if he doesn’t have a contract finalized by Dec. 1, he will have to wait until the lockout ends before resuming talks with Major League teams in the remaining three weeks of his assignment period. While it’s much more likely than not that Sato will actually be on an MLB team next year, if he doesn’t sign before December 1st, it’s at least possible that a lengthy lockout could lead to Sato simply returning to the Tigers and waiting until next winter (and more job stability) to make the jump to North American baseball.
Gn sports
