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Korea manager hoping for 'three to four' MLB players of Korean descent at WBC

Published: 09 Jan. 2026, 13:19

Ryu Ji-hyun, manager of the South Korean national baseball team, speaks with reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Jan. 9, before departing for Saipan to set up training camp ahead of the World Baseball Classic. [YONHAP]

When Korea takes the field for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Tokyo in March, manager Ryu Ji-hyun hopes he will have as many as four foreign-born players of Korean descent on his roster.

Ryu took nearly 30 players, most of them based in the KBO, to Saipan on Friday for the national team's preliminary camp for the WBC. Kim Hye-seong, a utility player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Go Woo-suk, a reliever who recently signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers, are the two U.S.-based players on the camp roster.

Ryu is also hopeful that he will have the services of other MLB players for the March 5-17 tournament.

Thanks to loose WBC eligibility rules, players can represent the country of birth of one of their parents, even if they weren't born in that nation. For the 2023 WBC, Korea had Gold Glove-winning infielder Tommy Edman, born in the United States to a Korean mother.

Edman won't be available this time as he recovers from ankle surgery, but Ryu said Friday that Detroit Tigers outfielder Jahmai Jones and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien, both U.S. natives with Korean mothers, will likely represent Korea at the WBC.

"We've taken all the steps we could, and I think there should be some sort of official approval from the WBC organizers before the end of January," Ryu told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. "As has been known all along, O'Brien and Jones have expressed a strong interest, and we expect them to join the team unless there is any major issue. In all, I expect around three to four such players to be available."

Jones, 28, had a solid 2025 season for the Tigers, setting career highs across the board with 72 games played, seven homers, 23 RBIs and a robust line of .287/.387/.550.

Detroit Tigers' Jahmai Jones runs after hitting an RBI double during the fifth inning in Game 4 of baseball's American League Division Series against the Seattle Mariners Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, in Detroit. [AP/YONHAP]

O'Brien also enjoyed the best season of his career 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 previous three MLB seasons.

Other players that the KBO has targeted include half-Korean pitcher Dane Dunning, who has 136 MLB games under his belt for three teams, and veteran outfielder Rob Refsnyder, who was born in Korea but was adopted by an American family as an infant.

Ryu said the camp in Saipan will mostly be an opportunity for pitchers to start gradually building up their workload, because, in a non-WBC year, they wouldn't be trying to ramp up in January for a high-intensity competition in March.

"I spoke to the players yesterday about the need to meet and train so early in the year, and I felt we all needed to be on the same page to make the most of this opportunity," Ryu said. "And the players all bought in wholeheartedly. As the players get to work out in warmer conditions, they will have a chance to get their bodies into pretty good condition."

Ryu is also taking some veteran pitchers, such as 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 KBO's oldest pitcher at 41.

Riley O'Brien of the St. Louis Cardinals pitches against the San Francisco Giants during the clubs' Major League Baseball regular-season game at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, in this Getty Images file photo from Oct. 8, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]

"As they train together, I think younger players will see for themselves why these veterans have been so good for so long," the manager said. "It's important for the older guys to set a good example and also be ready to perform at a high level."

After the Saipan camp ends Jan. 21, the national team will hold another camp in Okinawa, Japan, in mid-February. Ryu Ji-hyun said U.S.-based players won't be available for that occasion because they will have to join their respective clubs for spring training.

Two other Korean MLB players, Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves and Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, won't travel to Saipan this month and will only meet the national team in Japan, the site of its first-round games, if they do get permission from their clubs to play.

"In the case of Lee Jung-hoo and Kim Ha-seong, they told us early on that they have their own offseason training routines," Ryu said when asked about the two players' absence from the Saipan camp. "There's nothing wrong with them not taking part in this particular camp."

At this year's WBC, Korea will try to make it out of the preliminary round for the first time since reaching the final in 2009.

Yonhap