In any given offseason over the last couple of years, you might find Clayton Kershaw and Yu Darvish playing catch at some field near Dallas. The two Texas residents may no longer be teammates with the Dodgers, but finding a throwing partner isn’t always easy.
But the 2021 season has a little bit of a different feel to it. Not only is Darvish no longer with the Dodgers, but now he’s with a division rival. Darvish was traded from the Cubs to the Padres this past offseason as part of their massive starting rotation rebuild.
This coming weekend, Darvish and Kershaw will face off for the first time as NL West opponents.