Padres' Opening Day Starter Candidate Hopes to Be Ready for Series in South Korea

The impetus for selecting the San Diego Padres to play their historic regular season opener in Seoul — the first major league game on Korean soil — likely began with infielder Ha-Seong Kim.

The Padres' newly minted shortstop last year became the first Korean-born player to win a Gold Glove Award, and will be a huge gate attraction at the Gocheok SkyDome when the Padres play the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 20-21.

The crowd will surely attract Japanese fans as well, hoping to get a look at Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and the Padres' own Yu Darvish.

To this point in spring training, Darvish has not shown any residual effects of the bone spur in his right elbow that cost him the final month of 2023.

Speaking to reporters Friday at the team's spring training facility in Peoria, Arizona, Darvish set his goal for camp: to give his fans in Korea what they came for:

Yu Darvish threw 32 pitches today in another round of live batting practice. He said he expects his next outing to come "in a game" and that his goal is to be ready by the season-opening series in Korea.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) February 23, 2024

Darvish has been throwing this spring without restrictions in spring training, so the fact that he threw another healthy batting practice session should come as no surprise.

The Padres' Opening Day starter in 2021 and 2022, Darvish did not take the ball in the Padres' first regular season game last year. That honor went to Blake Snell.

This year, Darvish is one of two obvious candidates — along with Joe Musgrove — to start Opening Day against the Dodgers on March 20.

Given the number of Asian fans who would love to get a glimpse of the 37-year-old Japanese star in person, it would come as no surprise if the Padres tab Darvish for the Opening Day assignment in a month.

For Darvish's part, he appears to be on track to do just that.