Soon enough, the free agency frenzy is going to kick off across Major League Baseball, and it could go quickly. The Milwaukee Brewers are one win away from winning the World Series. Milwaukee has a three-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays and the second the series ends, the offseason fun can begin.

That's what's important for the Boston Red Sox right now. Shortly after the World Series ends, Boston will have option decisions to make, like with Sonny Gray. Soon after, the market will open and it could move quickly before the likely lockout begins in December. For Boston, it needs power. On Tuesday, The Athletic's Jim Bowden shared a column ranking the top 40 players heading to the open market and linked Boston to one of the most intriguing, along with the New York Yankees.

"[Teruaki Sato] is set to be the first Japanese position player since Hideki Matsui, 23 years ago to win the MVP Award in the Nippon Professional Baseball league and then join an MLB team the next season," Bowden wrote. "Sato won the league’s Triple Crown this year, slashing .306/.383/.609 with 40 doubles, 39 homers and 106 RBIs. ... Best team fits: New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox. Contract prediction: 5 years, $180 million."

Does Teruaki Sato Actually Make Sense For Boston?

Sato may not be a household name yet among Major League Baseball fans, but he has star written all over him. In 2026, he won the Triple Crown in the NPB Central League. The 27-year-old slashed .306/.383/.609 with a .991 OPS, 39 home runs, 106 RBIs, eight stolen bases, 40 doubles and three triples in 143 games. Clearly, he had a big year, to say the least.

He got his playing time at third base and in out in the outfield in 2026. For Boston, it's set at both of those positions with Caleb Durbin at the hot corner and a surplus of outfield talent already. If the club shifted Curtis Mead to designated hitter and Durbin to second base, this would make more sense. Or, if the Red Sox were to trade someone, like Jarren Duran, you could put a different outfielder in the DH spot.

Sato is the type of player who would help Boston from a power perspective, at least on paper. But Bowden's projected price tag arguably would be on the higher side. $180 million for someone who has never played a game in the majors arguably is on the higher side. Bowden compared Sato's value to Alex Bregman and Matt Chapman. But arguably Munetaka Murakami should be the closer comparison. Murakami was posted ahead of the 2026 season after slashing .286/.392/.659 with 24 home runs and 52 RBIs in 69 games in 2025. He dealt with injuries, but this is someone who was known as one of the very best sluggers in Japan. Back in 2022, for example, he bashed 56 long balls.

But Murakami only got a two-year, $34 million deal from the Chicago White Sox. Last year, around this time, he was projected to land a monster deal, but it never came. He's also almost an entire year younger than Sato. So, that five-year, $180 million price tag, Bowden arguably is way too high. If that's where he lands, it shouldn't be in Boston.

The price tag could very well be higher than Murakami's, though, especially if Boston and New York are involved in the market. Murakami's deal was too low. Bowden's projection for Sato is too high. Somewhere in the middle would make much more sense. Plus, with the Red Sox and Yankees both having a need, it could make the market very interesting.