New York Mets Among Long List Of MLB Teams To Send Scout To See Japanese Slugger

The New York Mets are not having much success in 2026, which means some big changes could happen this offseason. 

For now, the franchise has remained consistent on keeping manager Carlos Mendoza, at least for the rest of the season, but his future remains murky in Queens. 

As it turns out, though, the Mets appear to be tracking one player from Japan who could make the transition to the MLB. 

According to a report from Yahoo Japan, the Mets were one of 10 MLB teams to send a scout to Japan to see a game between the Chunichi Dragons and Hanshin Tigers to get a glimpse of Teruaki Sato, who plays for the Tigers. 

So far this season, Sato has a batting average of .372 with 12 home runs and 35 RBIs to lead the league in every category. 

Unfortunately, the game was rained out, and one scout mentioned that Sato is drawing a ton of attention, which was evident from 10 scouts making the trip to Japan. 

"The fact that so many scouts have gathered here is proof of how much attention he's getting," the scout said. 

The other teams to send scouts were the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers. 

Sato hit 40 home runs a season ago, and he previously revealed he would want to transition to MLB at some point. 

The expectation is that Sato will be posted this upcoming offseason, but there are already one-third of the teams interested in him, at least, given that scouts made the global trip to see him play. 

The Philadelphia Phillies also have expressed interest in Sato, so even months before free agency, he is drawing a ton of buzz across the MLB landscape. 

Sato plays third base and is a power hitter, so there could be some infield tinkering if he ends up signing with the Mets. 

No matter what happens this season for New York, expect the Mets to be aggressive and spend money in free agency, which has become a common trend over the past few years for this franchise. 

As of now, Sato has not made it known which team or city or state he even prefers to play in, but with the season going on in Japan, he is focused on that and will think about the future later.