The Padres envisioned big things from Roki Sasaki when they recruited him 18 months ago.

Patience would be needed. They were clear about that.

Knowing that the 22-year-old’s velocity and accuracy had dipped in his prior season, the Padres foresaw growing pains as the 6-foot-4 righty transitioned to Major League Baseball.

But Sasaki’s highlight clips from two and three years earlier had dazzled Padres big leaguers who would dine with him at Manny Machado’s house and show him around Petco Park.

Sasaki threw “100-plus with insane movement, insane splitter, really good stuff,” Joe Musgrove recalled Friday before Sasaki started at Petco for the first time.

When Sasaki chose the Dodgers, his Padres recruiters expressed no surprise.

“Guys like (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto and (Shohei) Ohtani, who are in their prime and have a history with Sasaki, it seemed very likely that was going to be his landing spot,” Musgrove said, noting the Japanese stars who awaited Sasaki in Los Angeles. “We gave him our pitch, we did what we could. But I got the personal feeling that he already had his mind made up.”

In an alternate universe, it’s not difficult to envision Sasaki choosing the Padres over the Dodgers 18 months ago.

A longer life for Peter Seidler may have put the Padres on top in the Sasaki sweepstakes. Seidler’s death in November 2023 led to the Padres being put up for sale when Sasaki became eligible to join the American big leagues.

Sasaki said at his introductory news conference with the Dodgers that L.A.’s stability contributed to his decision.

As it turns out, the Dodgers had an overlooked advantage that the Padres may not have been able to match.

Amid Sasaki’s considerable struggles in each season, L.A.’s ultra-deep pitching rotation has provided him cover. He’s been something of an afterthought in two seasons with MLB’s most talented team, lowering the glare he commanded when he joined L.A..

The team’s No. 6 starter entering this year, Sasaki is getting regular turns in the rotation now only because Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are on the injured list.

Even with increased velocity, raising his fastball average to 98 miles per hour, Sasaki hasn’t fully reprised his lights-out stuff and command of 2022 and 2023 that led scouts to say he could become the best pitcher on the planet.

Friday, Ty France’s home run off Sasaki’s splitter was the 14th long ball off Sasaki in just 70 innings. A season after posting a 4.46 ERA in 36 ⅓ innings, he took a 4.76 ERA into Friday. Sasaki struggled in his first start against the Padres, surrendering three runs on three hits in four innings of work while walking five and striking out three.

Still, every team would probably take him.

Showing how talented he is, Sasaki went on heater last October after moving to the bullpen, assisting the World Series run.

The Padres wanted him. Badly.

“We tried not to schmooze him and court him all around and make it this big deal,” Musgrove said. “We tried to keep it as loose as possible, and as the conversations would build, we would veer into more serious topics, talking baseball.”

Sasaki threw for the Padres in a low-adrenaline environment, clocking at 92-94 mph in an indoor session.

Recruiting him, they took pride in their feisty status as a high-payroll, small-market team that had become an annual playoff contender. And they took hope that wise pitcher Yu Darvish, still revered in Japan, could serve as a mentor.

“For us, it was trying to convey the competitive spirit that this clubhouse has and the battle that we face with the Dodgers every year and the teams at the top of the NL and just how much of an impact he can make with our group,” Musgrove said.

“I just tried to keep it as real as possible and just be very honest.”

The players told Sasaki he would receive first-rate support, citing coaches, analytics, medical staff and strength and conditioning coaches. They could point to recent teams that finished second of 30 teams in run prevention.

But they probably didn’t have a chance to deny the Dodgers, who, along with offering stable ownership, were coming off a World Series-winning season and boasted a strong farm system.

The Padres aren’t looking back with regret.

“We want somebody,” Musgrove said, “who wants to be a Padre.”