Padres face tough task as Dodgers' manager reveals likely starters for Seoul Series

The San Diego Padres enter the upcoming season without the same level of optimism that existed prior to their 2023 campaign. Last spring, the Friars were coming off a trip to the NLCS and had just added Xander Bogaerts to already star-studded roster. The Padres were one of the top choices to represent the National League in the World Series at this time last year.

But the Friars' dreams came tumbling down rather quickly, and San Diego didn't even make the playoffs. Manager Bob Melvin caught the first train out of town to southern California and is now managing the Pads' rival to the north. A.J. Preller jettisoned Juan Soto during the offseason along with Trent Grisham, and there are still several holes on the Padres roster ahead of the 2024 season.

To make matters worse, the Los Angeles Dodgers spent over $1 billion in free agency and brought in the best player on the planet in Shohei Ohtani. The Padres will get to see Ohtani up close and personal next month, and after Dodgers manager Dave Roberts named his team's starting pitchers for the Seoul Series, the Friars are going to have a tough time scoring runs to match Ohtani's likely offensive exploits.

Padres face tough task as Dodgers' manager reveals likely starters for Seoul Series

The Dodgers' skipper announced this week that Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow are on track to be Los Angeles' starting pitchers during the Seoul Series next month. While Roberts mentioned that things can change, LA's head man said that it was a "safe bet" that both Yamamoto and Glasnow will be toeing the rubber against the Padres on March 20th and 21st.

This shouldn't be shocking to the Friar faithful. After all, the Dodgers shelled out over $300 million to secure Yamamoto's services and dealt away some of their top young talent in order to land Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays. But knowing that something is likely to occur doesn't make the task itself any easier.

It does allow new Padres manager Mike Shildt to craft a lineup that he thinks can have success against the Dodgers' two-headed monster. With both Yamamoto and Glasnow being right-handed, it's highly likely that Shildt will load up with as many left-handed bats as he can muster when the Padres take the field at Gocheok Sky Dome next month.

With the Padres and Dodgers both being in the NL West, it was only a matter of time before the San Diego hitters would be in batters box with either Yamamoto or Glasnow on the mound. Pads fans were just hoping they could avoid at least one during the first series of the season.