What Texas Rangers Must Do if Interest in Teruaki Sato is Real

The Texas Rangers are reportedly interested in signing a Japanese superstar. It doesn’t fall in their budget. So, what must happen?

Hanshin Tigers right fielder Teruaki Sato. Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young has made it clear his team will have a flat payroll in 2027.

Based on 2026, that will be around 190 million. Apparently, that’s not stopping Young from shopping at the higher end of the free agent market. But unlike a few years ago, it isn't as simple as just going out and signing Jacob deGrom.

Remember that? In the 2022 offseason Young signed deGrom to a 5-year, $185 million deal and no one batted an eyelash. Now? There are hoops to jump through. Significant hoops. And one must wonder if Teruaki Sato is worth it?

If Rangers Are Serious, How Do They Get Teruaki Sato?

Hanshin Tigers right fielder Teruaki Sato. Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As reported by The Athletic (subscription required), Young and his staff have done extensive due diligence on the Japanese slugger, a left-hander who had a great run in the most recent World Baseball Classic. He has undeniable power in the NPB. In six seasons with Hanshin in the NPB he has a slash of .271/.337/.514 with 163 home runs and 518 RBI. He has slugged 79 home runs in the last two seasons and driven in at least 100 runs in each of the last two seasons.

It’s reliable power, something the Rangers have not had enough of the past couple of seasons. He just won the NPB’s Triple Crown, hitting .306 with 39 home runs and 106 RBIs.

The first problem is that Sato is not a free agent. Not technically. He's still under contract with Hanshin, so he'll be available through the NPB’s posting process. Whichever team signs him will owe Hanshin the posting fee plus the contract.

Next there’s the signing window. He was posted on Nov. 1 and has 45 days to find a deal. A potential work stoppage after Dec. 1 only gives him about 30 days to find a deal or he goes back to Japan for 2027.

Then there's the money. MLB Trade Rumors estimated that Sato could land a four-year deal worth $80 million. The Athletic’s Keith Law estimated $25 million annually for a four- of five-year deal.

The Rangers have little room for a player that could make upwards of $25 million per year. Texas would have to make room for him. They have four high-priced veterans, and shortstop Corey Seager may be the most likely to go. Per ESPN he is now open to a trade — if it’s the right fit. He can veto any deal.

Pitchers deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi can also veto trades but trading them would leave the Rangers without at least one top-of-the-line starter with no replacement either in the system or in free agency.

But Young must create salary space. Then, he must create roster space.

Sato is seen as a third baseman or outfielder. The Rangers have a controllable third baseman and Josh Jung, who has two more years before he hits free agency. The Rangers do have an opening in center field with the injury to Evan Carter, but Sato is a corner outfielder. He could play left field, and the Rangers could slide Wyatt Langford to center field.

Because he's a corner infielder, he could play first base. But that would put him in direct competition with Jake Burger, another player with two years of team control remaining. There's also the designated hitter position, where the Rangers used a variety of players in 2026, most notably Joc Peterson, a left-handed hitting slugger who is now a free agent. Sato could become their answer at DH against right-handed pitching.

Young and his staff are doing their due diligence and that's what they should be doing. But the odds are stacked against the Rangers in acquiring Sato. There are simply too many hoops protects us to jump through to make this a reality on a compressed timeline.