Ryu Ji-hyun, supervisor of the South Korean nationwide baseball workforce, speaks with reporters at Incheon Worldwide Airport, west of Seoul, Friday, earlier than departing for Saipan to arrange coaching camp forward of the World Baseball Traditional. Yonhap
When South Korea takes the sphere for the World Baseball Traditional (WBC) in Tokyo in March, supervisor Ryu Ji-hyun hopes he could have as many as 4 foreign-born gamers of Korean descent on his roster.
Ryu took almost 30 gamers, most of them primarily based within the Korea Baseball Group (KBO), to Saipan on Friday for the nationwide workforce’s preliminary camp for the WBC. Kim Hye-seong, a utility participant for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Go Woo-suk, a reliever who lately signed a minor league cope with the Detroit Tigers, are the 2 U.S.-based gamers on the camp roster.
Ryu can also be hopeful that he could have the providers of different Main League Baseball (MLB) gamers for the March 5-17 match.
Because of unfastened eligibility guidelines for the WBC, gamers can symbolize the nation of delivery of certainly one of their dad and mom, even when these gamers themselves weren’t born in that nation. For the 2023 WBC, South Korea had Gold Glove-winning infielder Tommy Edman, born within the U.S. to a Korean mom.
Edman will not be out there this time as he recovers from ankle surgical procedure, however Ryu mentioned Friday that Detroit Tigers outfielder Jahmai Jones and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O’Brien, each U.S. natives with Korean moms, will seemingly symbolize South Korea on the WBC.
“We have taken all of the steps we might, and I feel there needs to be some kind of an official approval from the WBC organizers earlier than the top of January,” Ryu instructed reporters at Incheon Worldwide Airport, west of Seoul. “As has been recognized all alongside, O’Brien and Jones have expressed sturdy curiosity, and we anticipate them to affix the workforce except there’s any main subject. In all, I anticipate round three to 4 such gamers to be out there.”
Jones, 28, had a stable 2025 season for the Tigers, setting profession highs throughout the board with 72 video games performed, seven homers, 23 RBIs and a sturdy line of .287/.387/.550.
O’Brien additionally loved the very best season of his profession in 2025 at age 30, pitching to a 2.06 ERA over 48 innings in 42 outings and recording six saves — after having none in his earlier three MLB seasons.
Different gamers that the KBO has focused embrace half-Korean pitcher Dane Dunning, who has 136 MLB video games below his belt for 3 groups, and veteran outfielder Rob Refsnyder, who was born in Korea however was adopted by an American household as an toddler.
Ryu mentioned the camp in Saipan will largely be a possibility for pitchers to start out progressively build up their workload, as a result of, in a non-WBC yr, they would not be attempting to ramp up in January for a high-intensity competitors in March.
“I spoke to the gamers yesterday about the necessity to meet and prepare so early within the yr, and I felt all of us wanted to be on the identical web page to profit from this chance,” Ryu mentioned. “And the gamers all purchased in wholeheartedly. Because the gamers get to work out in hotter circumstances, they are going to have an opportunity to get their our bodies into fairly good situation.”
Ryu can also be taking some veteran pitchers, equivalent to Hanwha Eagles starter Ryu Hyun-jin, a former MLB All-Star who turns 39 in two months, and SSG Landers reliever Noh Kyung-eun, the oldest pitcher within the KBO at 41.
“As they prepare collectively, I feel youthful gamers will see for themselves why these veterans have been so good for therefore lengthy,” the supervisor mentioned. “It is essential for the older guys to set a great instance and likewise be able to carry out at a excessive degree.”
After the Saipan camp ends Jan. 21, the nationwide workforce will maintain one other camp in Okinawa, Japan, in mid-February. Ryu Ji-hyun mentioned U.S.-based gamers will not be out there for that event as a result of they must be a part of their respective golf equipment for spring coaching.
Two different South Korean MLB gamers, Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves and Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, will not journey to Saipan this month and can solely meet the nationwide workforce in Japan, the positioning of its first-round video games, in the event that they do get the permission from their golf equipment to play.
“Within the case of Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Ha-seong, they instructed us early on that they’ve their very own offseason coaching routines,” Ryu mentioned when requested concerning the two gamers’ absence for the Saipan camp. “There’s nothing fallacious with them not participating on this explicit camp.”
At this yr’s WBC, South Korea will attempt to make it out of the preliminary spherical for the primary time since reaching the ultimate in 2009.
