Soto not worried about Dodgers: 'They should be worrying about us'

San Diego Padres outfielder Juan Soto is not concerned about the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he thinks his team's rivals should be uneasy.

"We're not worrying about them," Soto told TBS on Tuesday. "They should be worrying about us."

The Southern California clubs and NL West rivals have squared off in some hotly contested games in recent years, including the 2020 NLDS in which Los Angeles swept a San Diego team on the rise.

The Padres didn't forget that series loss, and they got their revenge last season by defeating the Dodgers three games to one in the NLDS.

"We showed up last year and we showed them what we have in the playoffs and we just came up, played good baseball, and beat them," Soto said.

"Now we've added more players, more depth in the lineup, our bullpen is great. ... I think they should be worried about us. We don't worry about anybody."

The Padres entered the 2023 campaign with arguably their best roster in franchise history after adding Xander Bogaerts, Nelson Cruz, and Matt Carpenter to a team that already included Soto, Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers let a number of veterans depart in free agency in an effort to trim payroll.

Entering Wednesday, the Padres are second in the division with a 7-5 record, just ahead of the 6-6 Dodgers.