Padres rocking Yamamoto adds more drama to Dodgers after Ohtani translator news

If trophies were given out for making splashes in the offseason, the San Diego Padres would be in a lot of trouble. They did go out and trade for Dylan Cease, but the sheer number of players that they lost from their 2023 roster cannot be replaced (on paper).

However, games aren't won or lost on paper and things can change very quickly.

Conversely, the Dodgers have long been considered to be the runaway winners of the offseason, which is honestly fair. They added a generational talent in Shohei Ohtani as well as the best pitcher on the free agent market in Yoshinobu Yamamoto, among other notable roster upgrades. LA should be lauded for going for it, but it sure would be nice if those moves didn't work out.

So far, so good when it comes to watching the Dodgers' offseason blow up in their faces. Not only has Shohei Ohtani been embroiled in a gambling payment scandal involving his interpreter in the last 24 hours, but the Padres absolutely torched Yamamoto in his Dodgers regular season debut.

Padres fans should enjoy all the Dodgers drama while they can

There is no denying that Yamamoto is a tremendously talented pitcher with stuff that looks filthy. However, he hasn't had a great spring, and that foreshadowed a disaster of a big league debut as he only managed to go a single inning against the Padres while giving up five runs and throwing 43 pitches (only 23 of which were strikes). Apparently $325 million doesn't get you as much as it used to.

Padres fans should enjoy this while they can. They took on a Dodgers team that's a heavy favorite to make the World Series and outplayed them in both games with Jake Cronenworth's busted glove being a key reason why San Diego had to settle for a split. Two of the Dodgers' biggest acquisitions (Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow) struggled, and their biggest addition is having to deal with the fallout from off-field issues. Padres fans should take that 10 times out of 10.

However, one needs to be careful declaring victory too early here. Yamamoto is probably going to figure things out and may have been dealing with nerves while adjusting to playing with a new team. Glasnow is going to be strong if he can stay healthy. Betting against Ohtani seems like a bad idea at this point even with the distraction of his interpreter's troubles.

This is still a good Dodgers team, but the last day or so is a reminder that nothing is a given in the game of baseball, and for the moment, things seem to have not gone the Dodgers way to the benefit of the Padres.

More Padres News from Friars on Base