The days of Alec Bohm in Philly are fading fast.
Bohm, who’ll enter free agency this offseason, will almost certainly sign elsewhere this upcoming winter, leaving behind a crack in the Phillies’ infield that will need patching up. Bohm has been the team’s primary third baseman for seven seasons, playing more than 700 games at the hot corner since his 2020 callup.
Enter the obvious question: Who’s on third for the Phils next season?
And the not-so obvious answer: How about Teruaki Sato?
MLB insider Jon Heyman has linked the Phillies among a few other teams to Sato, the Japanese slugger for the Hanshin Tigers. The Phils reportedly have dispatched scouts to assess the 27-year-old ahead of his anticipated posting from Nippon Professional Baseball.
Sato, who has played more than 500 games at third for the Tigers, is one of the most fearsome NPB hitters. In 2025, he launched 40 home runs, drove in 102 runs and won the MVP. And through 103 games this season, the lefty slugger is batting a career-high .315 with 27 bombs and a 1.026 OPS.
Check out Sato annihilating a Blake Snell fastball in a 2025 exhibition game:
Now a reality zap for Phillies fans pining for Sato: While other MLB clubs have infused rosters with Japanese talent, the Phils have struck out (literally) in recruiting players out of Japan. They’ve signed just one professional player: pitcher Koyo Aoyagi, who inked a minor-league contract in January 2025 but got released six months later, having never made the big league squad.
Lest we forget Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s infamous snubbing. Three off-seasons ago, the Phillies made the largest offer for Yamamoto after reportedly having a strong meeting with him. He ultimately chose the Dodgers, signing for 12 years and $325 million, despite Philly’s offer being financially superior.
But a Sato signing could erase Yamamoto’s dissing while being the Philadelphia’s best fall-back option to replace Bohm – especially after what’s happened to their top prospect Aidan Miller.
Not long ago, Phillies management foresaw Miller as Bohm’s inevitable replacement. But Miller’s career has been sidetracked due to a chronic back condition that has destroyed his 2026 season.
Miller has not taken a single at-bat this year. He underwent surgery – a minimally invasive radiofrequency ablation – in early June to treat discogenic pain and facet inflammation in his lumbar spine.
Even if Miller returns, he may need a full season of minor-league ball to reignite his development.
An in-house option for third base could be Bryson Stott, who has slid over there during the Phillies’ infield reshuffle to accommodate second baseman Luis Arraez, who the team nabbed at the trade deadline. The domino effect of the Arraez deal has also bumped Bohm to first and Bryce Harper to rightfield.
But Arraez will be a free agent after the season and there’s no guarantee he’ll return to Philly.
So, that leaves the Phillies with the looming dilemma in the infield, and it could be solved if they sign Sato.