The World Baseball Classic (WBC) team led by manager Ryu Ji-hyeon continues to suffer injury setbacks. Already four players are at risk of being unable to participate in the WBC due to injuries. Will the goal of reaching the second round for the first time in 17 years since the second tournament in 2009 be in jeopardy?
Manager Ryu Ji-hyeon announced the final 30-man WBC roster on the 6th. Fifteen pitchers, two catchers, seven infielders and six outfielders were selected. Four Korean heritage foreign-born players were picked.
The roster is not at full strength. Big leaguers Kim Ha-seong (Atlanta) and Song Seong-mun (San Diego) left early due to injuries.
Kim Ha-seong stayed in Korea in mid-January and slipped on an icy road, injuring his right middle finger. The Atlanta club said, "Kim Ha-seong suffered a ruptured tendon in his right middle finger. He underwent surgery in the United States and is expected to take about four to five months to recover."
Song Seong-mun signed a four-year guaranteed $15 million contract with San Diego through posting in the off-season. However, while pursuing his dream of entering Major League Baseball, Song Seong-mun suffered a side muscle (internal oblique) injury during personal training in January and was diagnosed as needing more than four weeks of rehabilitation. Key infielders Kim Ha-seong and Song Seong-mun were not summoned to the national team.
▲ WBC final roster
# Pitchers= Ryu Hyun-jin, Jeong Woo-joo (both Hanwha), Son Ju-yeong, Song Seung-gi (both LG), Kwak Bin (Doosan), Won Tae-in (Samsung), Go Young-pyo, So Hyeong-jun, Park Young-hyun (all KT), Jo Byung-hyun, Roh Kyung-eun (both SSG), Kim Young-kyu (NC), Go Woo-seok (Detroit), Riley O'Brien (St. Louis), Dane Dunning (Seattle)
# Catchers= Park Dong-won (LG), Choi Jae-hun (Hanwha)
# Infielders= Kim Hye-seong (LA Dodgers), Moon Bo-gyeong, Shin Min-jae (both LG), Kim Do-young (KIA), Roh Si-hwan (Hanwha), Kim Joo-won (NC), Casey Whitley (Houston),
# Outfielders= Lee Jung-hoo (San Francisco), Park Hae-min (LG), An Hyun-min (KT), Koo Ja-wook (Samsung), Moon Hyun-bin (Hanwha), Jermaine Jones (Detroit)
Moon Dong-ju, a player expected to be selected for the national team, was also left off the final roster. Moon Dong-ju complained of shoulder pain while attempting bullpen pitching at the recent Australian spring camp.
Manager Ryu Ji-hyeon said of Moon Dong-ju, "Pain recurred while throwing catch before the bullpen pitching on the 4th. He said the pain was stronger than on Jan. 30. He needs at least five to seven days of rest. At his current condition, we judged it would be difficult to expect a normal appearance at the early March tournament."
Moon Dong-ju temporarily returned to Korea from Australia on the 6th to undergo hospital examination. Hanwha said, "There is inflammation in his right shoulder causing pain, and the opinion is that inflammation management and rest are needed." It added, "From the inflammation management perspective, he will join the Melbourne camp on the 9th, take a few days of rest, and then resume training."
The injury setbacks did not end. On the 8th another injury report came from Hanwha's Australian camp. Catcher Choi Jae-hun suffered a finger fracture.
Hanwha announced, "During defensive training Choi Jae-hun was hit on his right hand by the ball and sustained a bruise; X-rays at a local hospital showed a fracture of the right fourth finger (ring finger) with an estimated recovery of three to four weeks." The national team had two catchers, Park Dong-won and Choi Jae-hun, but with less than a month until the tournament, Choi Jae-hun's injury made a player replacement inevitable.
Korea will start the group stage with its first game against the Czech Republic at the Tokyo Dome on March 5, then face Japan (March 7), Taiwan (March 8) and Australia (March 9) in succession.
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