You can’t hit a home run from the dugout. The Padres were right to pursue Roki Sasaki, even though, by the time the Japanese pitching ace chose Friday to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, much of their offseason had come and gone to little effect.

Roki Sasaki's decision to play for the Dodgers, on what will start as a standard minor-league contract, instantly transforms the club's short- and long-term future.