Phillies' Teruaki Sato Pursuit Just Took a Sharp Turn

The Philadelphia Phillies must figure out what they are doing at third base this offseason, as Alec Bohm is hitting free agency, and Aidan Miller probably won't be ready to assume a starting role as soon as next spring.

The Phillies could always re-sign Bohm, but they may want to go in a different direction, which is entirely understandable.

A potential alternative is Japanese third baseman Teruaki Sato, who is hitting the open market this winter and is expected to generate widespread interest.

Philadelphia is expected to be one of the teams involved in the bidding, and Jim Bowden of The Athletic mentioned the club as one of the top potential destination for him.

The problem? Bowden's contract projection.

Bowden is pegging Sato's expected deal at five years, $180 million, and when you factor in the posting fee, that would come out to roughly $209 million. That's an average annual value of over $40 million.

Would the Phillies, who are already loaded with lucrative long-term contracts on their payroll, be willing to pay that much money for a largely unproven commodity?

Sato has been great in Japan. There is no question. This past season with the Hanshin Tigers, Sato slashed .306/.383/.609 with 39 home runs and 106 RBI over 614 plate appearances. Two years ago, he smashed 40 homers.

There is no doubt the lefty slugger has power, and that could play very well in the hitter's park that is Citizens Bank.

However, Sato also has a high strikeout profile, fanning in 26.7 percent of his plate appearances in 2026. He has struck out over 160 times in each of the past two seasons, and while his walk rate (11.1 percent last year) somewhat compensates for it, you have to wonder how those numbers would translate in the majors.

It's also worth noting that there are serious concerns about Sato's defense at the hot corner, and Lord knows we've already seen enough of that with Bohm.

The Phillies also need to sign a big bat for their outfield, which is why Randy Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki have both been tabbed as likely targets for Philadelphia.

So could Philly sign Sato and land a prominent outfielder? I'm not sure owner John Middleton would allow Dave Dombrowski to go that far.

Sato is an intriguing target, without question. But it's very fair to wonder if the Phillies will have the financial capacity — or desire — to pull it off.