Mets Notes: Bichette, Sato, First Base

Back in August, the Mets were connected to Japanese slugger Teruaki Sato, who is now available via the posting system. This week, a report from Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic suggests that the club is less likely to make a push there now that infielder Bo Bichette has opted to stay in Queens. Sato has put up big offensive numbers in his career in Nippon Professional Baseball. His future defensive home is more of a question but his primary position in NPB has been third base. Some scouts believe he would be a subpar defender at the hot corner if placed there right now. If that assessment is true, then his future team will need to either develop his skills at third or move him elsewhere. He has a decent amount of right field experience. He also could presumably move from third to first, as many players have done over the years. For the Mets, it’s possible to fit him in there but it wouldn’t be perfect. Now that Bichette has opted in, he projects as the everyday third baseman next year. Per the report from Britton and Sammon, the Mets were satisfied with Bichette’s move from shortstop to third in 2026. In the outfield, the Mets project to have Juan Soto, A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge in three spots. Soto isn’t a great defender and could theoretically spend a lot of time in the designated hitter slot, though the Mets have a number of moving parts for DH, first base and second base. Marcus Semien, Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Jared Young and Jorge Polanco are all sort of in that 2B/1B/DH mix. The Mets also have a number of infield prospects knocking on the door of the majors, including Jefferson Rojas, Emilien Pitre and Mitch Voit. The report from Britton and Sammon suggests that the Mets could look for a right-handed platoon partner for Young at first base but will otherwise be focused on the rotation. President of baseball operations David Stearns has already admitted that adding to the rotation will be a focus this year. Young slashed .266/.330/.429 in 2026 but the lefty hitter had just a .228/.290/.316 line against southpaws compared to a .275/.339/.454 line otherwise. Vientos is right-handed and could be his platoon partner but he is also out of options and not guaranteed to hold a roster spot after a couple of down years. Polanco is a switch-hitter but has been better against righties in his career. He’s also coming off an injury-marred season and doesn’t have much first base experience. The report doesn’t mention any names as external targets but Alec Bohm, Paul Goldschmidt, Rhys Hoskins and Ryan Mountcastle are some righty-swinging free agents with first base experience. Switch-hitting Josh Bell is also out there. Presumably, teams with more glaring needs at third base, first base or in right field could be more motivated to go after Sato. Photo courtesy of Jordan Godfree, Imagn Images View Comments (6)