Dodgers, Padres expected to open 2024 in South Korea, source says

The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres are expected to open the 2024 season with a pair of games in South Korea, a source familiar with the process told ESPN's Alden Gonzalez on Sunday.

The games will be the first MLB contests played in South Korea and will mark the eighth time since 1999 that Major League Baseball has played its first regular-season games outside the United States or Canada.

The source said the Padres and Dodgers likely would play early enough to return to the United States and get settled before the rest of the 28 teams start their seasons.

The Padres currently have one South Korean player, infielder Ha-seong Kim, on their roster.

MLB has previously played season openers in Monterrey, Mexico (1999); Tokyo (2000, '04, '08, '12, '19); and Sydney (2014).

Four games are being played outside the U.S. or Canada this year, with the Padres sweeping a pair against the San Francisco Giantsin Mexico City last month and the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals set to play twice in London in June.

The Dodgers and Padres are playing their first series of the year this weekend. The NL West rivals split the first two games ahead of a deciding matchup on "Sunday Night Baseball" on ESPN at 7 ET.