Third base has been the New York Yankees’ most persistent problem for years, and 2026 did not solve it. Their season ended with a sweep by the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series, leaving the hot corner as the clearest offseason need.
The best available option may be in Japan. The Hanshin Tigers announced on Oct. 19 that they will post Teruaki Sato, the 27-year-old who just won the Central League Triple Crown with a .306 average, 39 home runs, 106 RBIs and a .991 OPS in 143 games. The Yankees have scouted him during NPB’s postseason.
Joba Chamberlain wants them to move on it. The former Yankees reliever, a member of the 2009 World Series team, argued on Yankees Pod that third base is too big a hole to leave open.
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“And I mean, you’re adding to a position that needs a little help. So getting him obviously is a huge, a huge part,” Joba Chamberlain said.
“I think that should be one that is focused on to get him to fill that spot that’s really been empty for some years and some consistency. It’s always, you don’t know if it’s gonna translate, but we’ve seen lately, it has been translating from the offensive side.”
The vacancy is real. The Yankees traded for Ryan McMahon at the 2025 deadline for his glove, and the defense slipped in 2026: -3 defensive runs saved, 0 outs above average and nine errors in 122 games. He is signed for one more year at $16 million, which makes him a floor, not a solution.
Chamberlain’s claim has support. Munetaka Murakami hit 35 home runs with a 130 OPS+ as a rookie for the Chicago White Sox in 2026, and Kazuma Okamoto hit 33 homers with 92 RBIs for the Toronto Blue Jays. Sato’s OPS climbed to .924 in 2025 and .991 this season, with a 26.7% strikeout rate that was his lowest since 2023.
MLB Insider Raises Concerns About Yankees’ Potential Fit for Teruaki Sato
Chris Kirschner, who covers the New York Yankees for The Athletic, is not convinced about pinstripes pursuing Teruaki Sato. In a mailbag, he accepted the offensive premise and questioned the roster logic:
“Sato doesn’t have Murakami’s offensive ceiling, but he should still be an above-average hitter in MLB. However, with his defense at third a negative, I don’t think the Yankees are the best fit,” Chris Kirschner wrote.
The issue is where Teruaki Sato stands. He graded out negatively at third base, and some scouts believe he will have to move to a corner outfield spot or first base.
The Yankees have Ben Rice and Luis Garcia Jr. at first, with Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Spencer Jones lined up in the outfield. If Sato cannot play third, Kirschner wrote, “the Yankees don’t really have a fit for him.”
Teruaki Sato won NPB’s Golden Glove at third base in 2025, though Sports Illustrated noted a .937 fielding percentage and 18 errors this year. The wider market is not waiting.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield named the Yankees the best fit for Sato, and The Athletic’s Jim Bowden projected New York or Boston, with the Dodgers, Mets and Phillies also linked. With the CBA expiring in early December, the 45-day posting window could compress into a bidding war.
For the Yankees, it comes down to whether the glove holds. If Teruaki Sato can play third, he fills the hole Chamberlain described and adds another left-handed power threat for the short porch. If he can’t, New York would be buying a bat with nowhere to stand.
Edited by Kaushani Chatterjee
