The San Diego Padres could end up being dark horse candidates to acquire Vladimir Guerrero Jr. from the Toronto Blue Jays.

In an exciting development, we heard early on Friday morning that the Toronto Blue Jays were now one of two finalists for Japanese pitching sensation Roki Sasaki. Sasaki had long-been rumored to join the Dodgers or the San Diego Padres,

Toronto acquired $2 million in international signing bonus pool allocation from the Cleveland Guardians that could be used in its pursuit of Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki as part of a trade that also brought underperforming outfielder Myles Straw to the Blue Jays.

A new report details what the Toronto Blue Jays want in a trade package for star slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

For Dodgers fans, it’s cause for celebration. For the rest of the league, it’s a disappointing conclusion and another reason to gripe and groan about the growing might of MLB’s new evil empire.

Right-hander Roki Sasaki, the covered Japanese free agent, has whittled down a list of suitors to two finalists, according to a report by veteran MLB reporter Francys Romero. Sasaki eliminated the San Diego Padres and will choose between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays, the report claims.

Japanese free agent pitcher Roki Sasaki is nearing a decision and is reportedly down to the Dodgers, Padres and Blue Jays

But while L.A. and San Diego may indeed still be the leaders for Sasaki's services, the longer this goes on the more it seems like the righty really is considering the Jays. There's no extra money to be gained by wielding leverage here, after all, and spending multiple days in Toronto likely isn't something he'd do just for the fun of it.

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.

Rōki Sasaki may have taken a pay cut in order to pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The San Diego Padres were willing to offer Sasaki more than $10

Japanese ace Roki Sasaki announced his intention to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers, choosing the defending World Series champions over the San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays, among other teams who showed interest in obtaining his services.