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2 injured MLB players to miss World Baseball Classic

Published: 19 Jan. 2026, 16:25

Atlanta Braves shortstop Kim Ha-seong fields a ball hit by Pittsburgh Pirates' Oneil Cruz in the first half of an MLB game on Sept. 27, 2025, in Atlanta. [AP/YONHAP]

Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves and Song Sung-mun of the San Diego Padres will not play for Korea at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) due to injuries, national team officials announced Monday.

The KBO said both U.S.-based players will not be available for the March 5 to 17 tournament. Korea will play all of its opening-round games in Tokyo, with Japan, Australia, Chinese Taipei and the Czech Republic in the same group.

Song, who signed with the Padres in December, suffered an oblique injury during a recent batting practice, and a source privy to the situation said Saturday he will be out for up to four weeks. Although that should still leave Song enough time to heal for the WBC, he has apparently decided to stay with the Padres in spring and try to win a job out of camp.

Kim recently underwent surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right middle finger after slipping on ice in Korea and will be out for four to five months, the Braves announced Sunday.

Kim signed a one-year deal with the Braves as a free agent after spending the second half of the injury-plagued 2025 season with them.

Song Sung-mun poses in a San Diego Padres jersey in a photo shared by the MLB team on Dec. 23, 2025. [YONHAP]

Kim would have been a shoo-in as the starting shortstop for Korea at the WBC, a Gold Glove-winning defender with power and speed. Song would have brought defensive versatility, as he can play third base, second base and first base, along with some offensive punch from the left side of the plate.

The national team will wrap up its preliminary training camp in Saipan this week, with the first batch of three coaches and 22 players due back home Tuesday, followed by the second group of six players, five coaches and manager Ryu Ji-hyun set to return Wednesday.

The next training camp will begin Feb. 15 in Okinawa, Japan.

Korea will try to make it out of the first round for the first time since reaching the final in 2009.

Yonhap