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The story
It was announced on the 19th that the Hanshin Tigers will allow infielder Teruaki Sato (27) to pursue a move to Major League Baseball through the posting system. Scouts from the Phillies, Royals, Rangers, Yankees and other teams reportedly came to check him out at Koshien Stadium during the Climax Series Final Stage. On 5ch forums, opinions split over whether he can match predecessors like Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto, while speculation ran wild over possible destinations and his projected salary.
Teruaki Sato: Major bidding war brewing this offseason? MLB scout who watched him this season: ‘Every team in the majors will be watching him’
Hanshin Tigers front-office chief Satoshi Shimamura (59) held a press conference at Koshien Stadium on the 19th and gave the green light for infielder Teruaki Sato (27) to challenge the majors via the posting system.
It was a season that drew intense interest from American baseball. At Game 4 of the Climax Series Final Stage (Koshien) on the 17th, the Phillies, Royals, Rangers, Yankees and others sent scouts, keeping a close eye on the Tigers slugger’s every move.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
That'd be worse than Murakami's deal.
Unlike Murakami, who only had the White Sox interested,
this time several teams are watching him,
so no way it's that low.
https://news.livedoor.com/topics/detail/32608080/
Though he won't live up to the hype.
But like Ohtani and Murakami, he'd probably do better on a less glamorous team.
I've seen plenty of position players flop after going to MLB.
Even Murakami could only put up that level of production!?
He'll hit 20 homers at least.
Whether that counts as 'cutting it' is another question.
It's a contract that nets Hanshin a huge posting fee regardless, so he doesn't even need to succeed lol
Sato-teru can too.
With MLB's juiced ball,
lefties have the edge at Yankee Stadium anyway.
Even in the first half of last season, when the ball was at its least lively, he was still mashing homers.
Every great slugger eventually hits one clean out of Yokohama Stadium, but doing it to that part of the park so soon after turning pro was shocking.
No wonder Morishita calls him 'the gorilla.'
That's really the only reaction I've got.
Indians would work too (old name for the Guardians).
The Yankees and Dodgers might be too stretched handling their current rosters to have room for him — depends on the new labor deal though.
The White Sox, Rockies, and Marlins would welcome him with open arms.
MLB proposes salary cap, $245.3M payroll limit — fears of first strike since '94
On the 28th, Major League Baseball proposed introducing a salary cap in negotiations with the players' union over a new collective bargaining agreement.
The plan sets a team payroll ceiling of $245.3 million (about ¥39.2 billion), with a salary floor of $171.2 million (about ¥27.4 billion).
As of this season's opening day, eight teams were over the cap, including the Dodgers, Mets, and Yankees.
The Dodgers, with the majors' highest payroll at $415.2 million (about ¥66.4 billion) this season, would need to cut $169.9 million (about ¥27.2 billion).
Twelve teams fell below the floor, including the White Sox, Rockies, and Marlins.
You'd want to live in NY, right?
I can already picture people calling it 'Igawa's curse' (after Kei Igawa, the Japanese pitcher who famously flopped with the Yankees).
No way it's the Dodgers.
Sato, who screamed 'Don't you tell ME that!' at Shohei Ohtani… The full story of the WBC infighting [Full Truth Behind Samurai Japan's Shocking Loss] [Negi-Udon★]
https://hayabusa9.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/mnewsplus/1775983894/
https://weekly-jitsuwa.jp/archives/23099
The Central League does have a narrow strike zone, so that part is a legitimate worry.
How many hundred million yen is Sato-teru gonna fetch?
Infielders are a notoriously tough sell over there, and both of those two were underrated going in. Thanks to how well they did, Hanshin is now cashing in with full confidence.
Saiki? That'll have to wait till next year or later, thanks to Imai lol
if the three guys who've been a true cut above the rest of NPB hitters these past few years — Murakami, Okamoto, and Sato-teru — can't succeed in the majors, NPB is genuinely finished.
They need to deliver.
Everyone else is a couple tiers below those three.
The only one who was truly a cut above was Murakami in his Triple Crown year.
Teru and Okamoto were never quite on that level.
Wonder if MLB realizes that.
They're probably not counting on it much.
The majors are flush with cash, and the yen's just too weak lol
If a guy can hit 30 homers, batting average and strikeouts don't matter.
Only 20 players hit 30+ homers this season, and that includes all three of Ohtani, Okamoto, and Murakami.
There's a real slugger shortage out there.
If they demote him to AAA right away, send him back to Japan, and he ends up with the Yomiuri Giants the year after next, I will not forgive it.
Really depends on the team.
Murakami only kept getting playing time because the White Sox are a mess.
NPB average pitch speed, 2016→2026: 142→148 km/h
MLB average pitch speed, 2016→2026: 150→152 km/h
The pitching-level gap between now and the era when Tsutsugo won the home run title has narrowed quite a bit.
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
The posting system lets a player negotiate directly with MLB teams in exchange for a transfer fee paid to his original club, once that club signs off — and it looks like Sato will use this route. Thread opinion split over how well he’ll perform compared with recent transfers Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto: some expect strong power numbers, while others flagged his high strikeout count and shaky defense as concerns. Many commenters named popular franchises like the Yankees and Dodgers as likely destinations, though as some posts pointed out, MLB and the players’ union are currently negotiating a salary cap, which could make it harder for big-spending teams to take on new contracts. Several guesses at his eventual salary were floated too, but it’s worth noting these are all speculation ahead of any official announcement, not confirmed terms.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisokuho+) thread “[Baseball] Hanshin’s Teruaki Sato: Major bidding war brewing this offseason? MLB scout who watched him this season: ‘Every team in the majors will be watching him’“.
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