The Blue Jays should use Kazuma Okamoto to recruit Teruaki Sato this winter. Toronto's history with Japanese stars says it needs all the help it can get.

The list of misses is long. The Jays came up short on Yu Darvish, Shohei Ohtani twice, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki.

Okamoto finally broke the streak. He signed a four-year, $60 million deal before 2026 and set the franchise record for home runs by a rookie.

He finished with a 113 wRC+ and landed on Baseball America's All-Rookie Team. That's a selling point no brochure can match.

Sato would be the next big target. The 27-year-old just became the first Hanshin Tiger to win the Triple Crown since Randy Bass in 1986.

He joins Nobuhiko Matsunaka and Munetaka Murakami as the only NPB hitters to win the Triple Crown this century, per Yakyu Cosmopolitan.

Mark Shapiro is sending a Blue Jays contingent to Japan

The fit is clean. Sato has played third base and the outfield, so he could fill an outfield hole and back up Okamoto at the hot corner.

Pitching is in play, too. Kaima Taira and Hiromi Itoh are also expected to be posted, and Toronto has an opening in the rotation.

Shapiro said the Jays will send a contingent to Japan this offseason and that he may travel there himself, according to MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.

What's the pitch to a Japanese star? East Coast clubs sit farther from Japan than West Coast teams, so Toronto needs a better story than geography.

Okamoto can tell it. He can talk about the on-field adjustments, the clubhouse and coaching staff, and life in a diverse city away from the park.

Go all in on Sato. Triple Crown power is exactly what a lineup that finished last in home runs is missing, and a teammate's testimony beats any front office slideshow.

Okamoto is the friend who already moved to the new city. One honest text from him is worth more than a stack of real estate listings.

Toronto has spent years as the bridesmaid in Japan. With Okamoto in the room this winter, the Jays have their best chance yet to finally land the next big name.