On Monday, Jan.19, the Korean Baseball Organization announced that Korean infielders Ha-seong Kim and Sung-mun Song have withdrawn from the World Baseball Classic due to injuries.
Song, who signed with the San Diego Padres on Dec. 22, 2025, after playing for the Kiwoom Heroes in the KBO, was expected to be one of Korea’s top hitters. He hit .315/.387/.530 with 26 home runs, 90 RBIs and 25 stolen bases during his final season in Korea. Song injured his oblique while training in South Korea on his own instead of joining Korea’s national team camp in Saipan. He is expected to miss four weeks and opted to withdraw from the WBC in order to focus on getting healthy for spring training with the Padres.
Kim, one of Korea’s top MLB hitters and a key contributor at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, was expected to serve as the team’s starting shortstop before his injury. Last week, while in South Korea, Kim slipped on ice and ruptured a tendon in his right middle finger. The injury is expected to sideline him for Opening Day with the Atlanta Braves and could keep him out for as long as five months.
At the 2023 WBC, Kim led Korea with a 1.028 OPS and recorded three home runs and six RBIs. He is widely regarded as the most complete Korean position player currently in MLB. The losses of Kim and Song represent significant setbacks for a Korean team aiming to advance past the first round for the first time since 2009.
Korea also received more bad news Sunday, when highly regarded St. Louis Cardinals prospect JJ Wetherholt confirmed he was ineligible to represent the country at the WBC after failing to meet eligibility requirements. Despite mutual interest, Wetherholt will not participate. Korea is now without four players it had hoped to have for the tournament, with Tommy Edman also sidelined because of injury.
Not all the news was negative. Over the weekend, Cardinals reliever Riley O’Brien announced that he expects to pitch for Korea in March. O’Brien is coming off a career season in MLB, posting a 2.06 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 48 innings.
O’Brien’s power arm is expected to be a major boost to Korea’s bullpen. He averaged 98 miles per hour on his fastball in 2025, a velocity rarely seen among Korean pitchers. His presence could help stabilize high leverage innings, an area that proved costly for Korea at the 2023 WBC and played a major role in the team’s failure to advance.
Korea will compete in a Pool with Japan, Australia, Czechia and Chinese Taipei at the Tokyo Dome from March 5-10. The top two teams will advance to the quarterfinals in Miami, where they will face one of the top two teams from Pool D
WBN South Korea: https://worldbaseball.com/league/south-korea/
Photo: Kiwoom Heroes infielder Sung-mun Song, credit KBO
