The Dodgers acquired Tyler Glasnow this winter confident he could become the next ace of their starting rotation.
When the team’s regular season begins in South Korea next week, Glasnow won’t have to wait long for his first opportunity to start proving it.
Glasnow will be the Dodgers’ opening day starter, the team announced Monday, for its March 20 lid-lifter against the San Diego Padres at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul.
He will face veteran Padres right-hander Yu Darvish in the opener. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the second game of the series against Joe Musgrove.
It will mark Glasnow’s second career opening day start — and, he and the Dodgers both hope, a more consistent chapter in his rollercoaster big-league career.
Glasnow wasn’t the most expensive addition of the Dodgers’ offseason, which was highlighted by the $700-million signing of two-way star Shohei Ohtani and the $325-million acquisition of Yamamoto.
But after being traded to the Dodgers in December from the Tampa Bay Rays, then immediately signing a five-year, $136.5-million deal that secured his future in L.A. long-term, Glasnow could have as impactful an on-field role as almost anyone else on the club’s new-look roster.
The 30-year-old will be asked to help anchor the pitching staff, after flashing tantalizing potential during his six-year stint with the Rays — including a 27-16 record, a 3.20 ERA and one of the most highly touted pitching arsenals in all the majors.
He will also be trying to stay healthy over a full campaign, having never logged more than 120 innings in a single season thanks to a long list of injuries — including a Tommy John procedure in 2021 — over his eight-year MLB career.
The opening day honor was just the latest reminder of Glasnow’s importance to the team, particularly this year as Yamamoto embarks on his transition from Japan and Walker Buehler works his way back from Tommy John surgery.
The Dodgers will need him to pitch like a full-fledged ace. And from the very first game of the year, they will be treating him as such.
This is a developing story and will be updated.