The countdown to the opening of the 2024 Major League Baseball season continues, and it will commence in Asia. The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres will open the regular season in a two-game series in South Korea.
The games will happen on March 20 and 21 at 3:05 p.m. Pacific Time at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. The Padres’ Ha-Seong Kim will feel at home playing here because it’s where his former team, the Korean Baseball Organization’s Kiwoom Heroes, played their home games.
The two game series between the Padres and Dodgers will take place at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. This is the same ballpark that Ha-seong Kim played at during his KBO days with the Kiwoom Heroes. #Padres #Dodgers #MLB
— Mark Bartlett (@mark_a_bartlett) January 10, 2024
Ballpark Capacity: 25,000 pic.twitter.com/Ww8btl2AgB
The Dodgers and the Padres are two franchises with contrasting fates during the offseason. Aside from the passing of Padres owner Peter Seidler, they’ve also lost Juan Soto to the New York Yankees. Their former starting pitchers, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, signed with the Kansas City Royals.
Relief pitcher Nick Martinez joined the Cincinnati Reds, while Tim Hill joined the Chicago White Sox on a one-year deal. It’s also uncertain if closing pitcher Josh Hader and National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell will re-sign with the Padres.
Despite the talent on their roster last season, the Padres missed the postseason due to an 82-80 record.
Conversely, the Dodgers have added two-time American League Most Valuable Player via a ten-year, $700 million contract. They have also signed three-time Nippon Professional Baseball Pacific League Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto to a 12-year, $325 million deal.
They haven’t stopped there, as the Dodgers gave Tyler Glasnow a five-year, $136.5 million extension after finalizing the trade with the Tampa Bay Rays. Los Angeles also signed right fielder Teoscar Hernandez on a one-year, $23.5 million deal.
The Dodgers have also re-signed Jason Heyward and Joe Kelly to one-year deals. Their roster gets scarier if they will get Julio Urias and Clayton Kershaw back.
Despite winning 100 games last season, the eventual National League champions Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers in three games during the NL Division Series.
-Lance Fernandez