2024 MLB opening week: Korean stars to clash early All eyes on Ohtani Prospects to debut
By some schedule quirks this spring, the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season has already begun for two teams, but not so for the 28 others.
The rest of the league will catch up this week when the new season begins in earnest across the United States.
The Padres and their Korean star, Kim Ha-seong, will host the San Francisco Giants and their hotshot rookie, Lee Jung-hoo, to open the U.S. portion of their campaign Thursday afternoon (local time) at Petco Park.
Kim and Lee were close friends when they both played for the Kiwoom Heroes in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Kim was with the club from 2014 to 2020, and Lee made his debut in 2017.
After Kim signed with the Padres, Lee was inspired by his former teammate to do the same and take his talent to MLB. In December, Lee signed for six years at $113 million, the largest contract ever given to a KBO player through posting. As National League (NL) West rivals, the Padres and the Giants will face each other 13 times this year.
Lee, one of the best contact hitters in KBO history, lived up to his hype in his first spring training, as he finished with a .343/.425/.486 line with a home run and two steals in 13 games. He missed some time with injuries but will be ready to roll as the Giants’ new everyday center field and leadoff man.
Kim, now entering his fourth big league season, has established himself as an elite defender. In 2023, he won the NL Gold Glove at the utility position, after splitting his time at second base, shortstop and third base. Kim became the first Asianborn infielder to capture a Gold Glove, a year after being a finalist for the award at the shortstop position. And in 2024, Kim will be back as San Diego’s primary shortstop, with Xander Bogaerts moving across the bag to second base.
In the KBO, Kim had been known as a hard-hitting shortstop with 30-homer power and solid, if not spectacular, defensive skills. Kim has become known more for his glove than his slugging in MLB, though he did hit a career-high 17 home runs in 152 games last season while stealing a career-best, team-leading 38 bags.
Kim is scheduled to become a free agent after this season and will likely command plenty of interest as a potential 20-20 shortstop with excellent defensive chops to boot. He will still just be 29 by the time he hits the open market.
Kim’s teammate in San Diego, reliever Go Woo-suk, was optioned to Triple-A El Paso while in Seoul last week. Go traveled with the rest of the Padres to Korea for exhibition games but did not make the Opening Day roster for regular season contests against the Dodgers. Go, who pitched for the LG Twins in the KBO from 2017 to 2023, signed his two-year deal with the Padres in January and had a short offseason after helping the Twins win the Korean Series title in mid-November.
The Padres have said they will stay patient with the 25-year-old pitcher, who finished his first spring training with a 12.60 ERA over five innings in six outings. He gave up three runs — two unearned — on three hits in 2/3 of an inning against the Seattle Mariners in San Diego’s final spring training game Tuesday.
Shohei Ohtani already made his Dodgers debut in Korea, but all eyes will still be on the two-way sensation as Los Angeles hosts the St. Louis Cardinals. The $700 million star is trying to remain focused on the field after the firing of his longtime interpreter and friend Ippei Mizuhara, who Ohtani said Monday stole money from him to pay off gambling debts.
Ohtani, who won’t pitch this season while recovering from a second Tommy John surgery, was 3 for 10 with two RBIs as Los Angeles split the Seoul Series. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts posited Tuesday that Mizuhara’s absence could be good for Ohtani, saying Mizuhara had been a “buffer” between the Japanese star and his new teammates.
Several stars are set to debut with new teams. Juan Soto, still just 25, was dealt from the Padres to the Yankees over the winter and will slot into the lineup along with Aaron Judge when New York faces Houston. Late in the game, the Astros might counter Soto with
Josh Hader, a five-time All-Star closer who signed with Houston in January.
Corbin Burnes is on the mound for Baltimore against the Angels after a Feb. 1 trade from Milwaukee. Matt Chapman should be at third base for the Giants against San Diego, and Rhys Hoskins suits up for the Brewers against the Mets.
World Series MVP Corey Seager and the defending champion Texas Rangers open at home with Nathan Eovaldi on the mound against Cody Bellinger and the Chicago Cubs.
Coming off their surprising run to the National League pennant, Zac Gallen and the Diamondbacks host Colorado.
Arizona made a late splash at the
very end of spring training, boosting its rotation by agreeing Tuesday with free-agent pitcher Jordan Montgomery on a $25 million, oneyear contract that includes a vesting option for 2025. The deal was subject to a successful physical.
Two of baseball’s top hitting prospects — the Brewers’ Jackson Chourio and the Rangers’ Wyatt Langford — are set to make their big league debuts. Chourio, 20, signed an $82 million, eight-year deal this offseason, the most money guaranteed to a player with no major league experience. Langford, meanwhile, will reach the majors less than a year after Texas selected him fourth overall in the 2023 amateur draft from the University of Florida.
Several teams are expected to open the season without their injured closers, including the Arizona Diamondbacks (Paul Sewald), the Baltimore Orioles (Félix Bautista), the Milwaukee Brewers (Devin Williams), the Minnesota Twins (Jhoan Durán) and the Toronto Blue Jays (Jordan Romano).
Meanwhile, the New York Mets get back All-Star closer Edwin Díaz after he missed last season following knee surgery. Sound the trumpets at Citi Field. “I know the fans will get loud,” Díaz said Wednesday. “I will feel the chills.”
When the Phillies and Braves get going Friday, right-handers Zack Wheeler and Spencer Strider square off in a juicy NL East matchup.
Wheeler is pitching with a new contract after agreeing to a $126 million, three-year deal for 202527 this spring. The 33-year-old could’ve become a free agent after this season, but instead he recommitted to Philadelphia, where he’s been among the game’s best since joining the club as a free agent for the 2020 season.
Strider, meanwhile, has a new pitch. The 25-year-old right-hander has been working on a curveball this spring to deepen his repertoire. A scary thought for batters — without that curve, Strider struck out a major league-high 281 in 186 2/3 innings last season, finishing fourth in NL Cy Young Award balloting.
Reigning NL MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and the Braves finished 14 games ahead of Philadelphia each of the past two years. But the Phillies ended Atlanta’s postseason in Game 4 of a Division Series at Citizens Bank Park both times.
When the Brewers and Mets get underway, Pat Murphy takes over as manager of the defending NL Central champions after Craig Counsell bolted for the rival Chicago Cubs during the offseason.
New York turns to first-timer Carlos Mendoza — the former Yankees bench coach was hired to replace Buck Showalter by new president of baseball operations David Stearns, who used to run the Brewers after growing up a Mets fan in New York City. “It’s getting real,” Mendoza said Wednesday. “I’m pretty sure I will feel those butterflies.”
After trading Burnes, a three-time All-Star and the 2021 NL Cy Young Award winner, Milwaukee gives Freddy Peralta his first career opening-day start.