Dodgers Manager Joe Torre (L) U.S. Ambassador to China Clark Randt, Chinese baseball official Meng Wei and Vice President of San Diego Padres Dave Winfield in Beijing

Major League Baseball has announced that the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers will play two exhibition games in China on March 15th and 16th at this year's Olympic venue.

Padres vice president and Hall of Famer Dave Winfield and Dodgers' manager Joe Torre made the announcement in Beijing Thursday. The two games are part of Major League Baseball's efforts to expand its world market.

Both Torre and Winfield promised that top players would take part in the games, even though both teams have concurrent spring training games in the United States. Players' union chief operating officer Gene Orza said that his members seemed enthusiastic about the games, which come just two weeks before the regular season opens.

The games will be played at the Wukesong Field, the venue for this year's Olympics. Though the sport will be part of this year's Games, it has been dropped from the 2012 Games in London. Baseball officials hope to restore it to the Olympic program by 2016.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP .