The Seattle Mariners will be looking to have their managerial situation sorted by Halloween (Oct. 31) and could have a list of final candidates days before that point.

If the Mariners find a way to hire a a skipper by Halloween, the organization will have a month to make any new additions to the roster it sees fit before the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the MLB and MLB Players Association expires Dec. 1 and players are locked out by the owners Dec. 2.

The Halloween deadline will be important for Seattle to get a new skipper. The month of free agency will give the new manager a month to introduce and establish a common baseline with the roster, and even less for any new free agent signing.

One of those free agent signings could be coming all the way across the world.

The Hanshin Tigers of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) posted third baseman/corner infielder Teruaki Sato on Monday.

Sato, 27-years-old, is coming off his fifth All-Star season in six years with the Tigers and won the Triple Crown. He won the MVP in 2025 and could win the award in back-to-back seasons for his performance in 2026.

Sato slashed .306/.383/.609 with a .992 OPS in 143 games this season and hit 40 doubles, three triples and 39 home runs with 106 RBIs.

Sato will have 45 days after his official posting window to sign with an MLB franchise. Due to him being posted this week, it will allow teams to negotiate with him as soon as free agency officially begins after the World Series.

Japanese media outlet Sports Hochi reported seven teams are interested in Sato: the Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.

There's been speculation on Sato's fit for the M's but this is the first case of reported interest.

Seattle has been reported to have a payroll that would match or be slightly higher than its end-of-season number for 2026. That would mean that, based on arbitration projections, the team would have $30-35 million to spend in free agency.

Last year's two Japanese hitters, Blue Jays third baseman Kazuma Okamoto and Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami, earned deals that would be within the Mariners' price range if Sato signs for a similar number.

Okamoto signed with Toronto for a four-year, $60 million contract ($15 million AAV) and Murakami signed a two-year, $34 million deal with the White Sox ($17 million AAV). Both hitters were projected to sign for bigger deals in the offseason by various MLB insiders.

Sato is considered to have a better contact tool than Murakami with less power; and more power than power than Okamoto with a slightly worse contact tool.

Theoretically, Sato wouldn't have an argument to sign more than either player considered him being right in the middle of both the 2025 signees in terms of his profile as a hitter.

But, if a big spender like the Mets, Yankees or Dodgers ends up upping Sato's value to a bidding war, that might price the Mariners out.

One of the few benefits of the month-long free agency period is that there might not be time for teams to enter lengthy negotiations with Sato which would allow the Mariners to have a legitimate chance.

Seattle has struggled the last several years in landing Japanese talent. It was unable to land Shohei Ohtani when he originally came over from Japan and didn't land an interview with Roki Sasaki despite publicly stating its interest.

Sato, however, seems to have an appreciation for the Mariners and the city of Seattle that could open a door for communication, even if that respect is simply surface level.

The 27-year-old infielder has been photographed wearing an M's hat during batting practice and has a post on his Instagram on a vacation to Seattle, donned in a Seattle Kraken hat and a Julio Rodriguez jersey. He made a spot at T-Mobile Park on his vacation.

Sato plays third base or the corner outfield, all positions of need for Seattle. His defense doesn't project well at the major league levels, but neither did Okamoto or Murakami's and both were able to play serviceable defense for their respective clubs.