Sasaki named them one of his three finalists, joined by the Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. If nothing else, such recognition plants a larger Padres flag in Japan, where Sasaki commands national attention. Coming Japanese stars won’t say “who?” when Padres team-builder A.J. Preller and scouts come calling.

With ownership turmoil and no offseason additions, the Padres must figure out how to contend without the Japanese phenom they coveted.