Red Sox Should Pursue Japanese Triple Crown Winner, but Blue Jays Want Him originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
One underrated challenge the Boston Red Sox will face over the next couple of years is how to enter the Japanese market and land some of the top overseas players.
There are many reasons the Red Sox might not have been able to do so with some of the big-time superstars who have come over recently, and the biggest one is likely how far Boston is from Japan.
Many Japanese stars prefer to stay on the West Coast, which is why teams like the New York Yankees and New York Mets have also failed to land some of those elite guys.
As for how the Red Sox can do that this offseason, there's a possibility that Teruaki Sato could be posted, and there's an argument to be made that there wouldn't be any better player for the Red Sox to go after than the 27-year-old.
However, according to the latest report, the Toronto Blue Jays are expected to be at the top of the list of suitors, something the Red Sox will hopefully be able to maneuver around.
“Going back to the Japanese market, Toronto has been linked to Teruaki Sato, a third baseman with experience in the corner outfield,” Ethan Miller wrote.
“Sato brings more power than any of the previously listed names, having hit 39 home runs for the Hanshin Tigers this season. He’s not just a one-way threat, either; he won the NPB Triple Crown, leading the league in batting average (.306) and RBIs (106).”
If I had to rank Sato among the top players to go after this winter, he'd be at the top of my list.
I understand that there are always questions about guys coming over from Japan, but he was ridiculous offensively once again this past year in the NPB. He hit 39 home runs, 40 doubles, drove in 106 runs, and posted a .991 OPS.
That kind of left-handed production would be ridiculous in the Red Sox lineup, and any team in baseball could use it.