Glasnow to start in Dodgers’ opener

PHOENIX — 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, for its March 20 lidlifter against the San Diego Padres at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. He will face Padres right-hander Yu Darvish in the opener. Yoshinobu Yamamoto will start the series’ second game, against Joe Musgrove.

This is Glasnow’s second opening day start. He and the Dodgers hope it’s a more consistent chapter in his career in the big leagues. Glasnow wasn’t the most expensive addition in the offseason, with the $700-million signing of two-way star Shohei Ohtani and the $325-million acquisition of Yamamoto.

But after being traded in December from the Tampa Bay Rays, then immediately signing a five-year, $136.5-million deal that secured his future in L.A., Glasnow, 30, could have as impactful an on-field role as almost anyone else on the club’s new-look roster. He will be asked to help anchor the pitching staff, after flashing potential during his six-year stint with the Rays — including a 27-16 record, a 3.20 ERA and one of MLB’s most highly touted pitching arsenals.

He will also try to stay healthy, having never logged more than 120 innings in a season, thanks to a long list of injuries over eight years. The opening day honor is the latest reminder of Glasnow’s importance to the team, as Yamamoto embarks on his transition from Japan and Walker Buehler works his way back from Tommy John surgery.