The Padres in recent months have "been aggressive about augmenting their visibility" in Asia, according to Dennis Lin of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. The team last June brought on former Dodgers Exec Dir of Asian Operations Acey Kohrogi as Dir of Pacific Rim Operations and added former MLBers Takashi Saito and Hideo Nomo to the Baseball Operations department. Nomo said, "Japan and Asia, I'm hoping to increase the Padres' presence in those areas, so maybe we can all be at Petco Park with more Asian fans in the stands." He added, "I'm hoping good players come to the Padres and, (for) Asian fans in Asia and the United States, hoping that they can all be happy that good players come to the Padres." Lin noted members of the Padres' front office, joined by Ps Brandon Maurer and Colin Rea, in November "took a goodwill trip to Japan." The team last month also "hosted the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters' spring training" at Peoria Sports Complex. Lin noted the hope is additions such as Nomo will "forge a strong bridge to San Diego." The last Japanese player on the Padres was 2B Tadahito Iguchi in '08 (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/27).
