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The Los Angeles Dodgers played their 2024 season opener in Seoul, South Korea. In 2025, they were one of the teams considered to play in Japan to start the season, but reports suggest that that's no longer on the table. After debuting their new players in a different country once, they don't want to do it in consecutive seasons.
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This was first reported by Sanspo, a Japanese outlet. Steven Negishi on X translated their report to English and said:
"According to reports out of Japan, it looks like the Dodgers are not considered one of the teams that will begin the season in Tokyo next March."
The Dodgers feature two of the most prominent Japanese players in the MLB, and two stars of the Japan World Baseball Classic Team: Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani. It's understandable why MLb wanted them in Japan, but they're not interested.
Why the Dodgers don't want to go to Japan
Steven Negishi cited two reasons for the report. First, the Los Angeles Dodgers have already traveled to South Korea this year to face the San Diego Padres. They are worried about the health of their players traveling for the second consecutive year.
Secondly, the Dodgers didn't want to sacrifice another home game. They average 45,000 fans, the most in MLB, at home games. That's a significant advantage for any team, and not wanting to lose that advantage for a game is a big reason the Dodgers aren't interested in a Japan trip.
The report suggests that the Chicago Cubs are still being heavily considered for the season opener in Japan next season. Their opponent has yet to be named. Baseball continues to try and spread globally.
They have visited London and Mexico several times in the last few seasons. The season-opening series was held in Seoul in 2024, and it looks like they're trying to nail down two teams to do the same in Japan in 2025.
Commissioner Rob Manfred has expressed a desire to put baseball on the world stage aside from the WBC, and series like this are a big part of it.
