The head coach of the South Korean team hopes to add 3-4 Korean-American players to strengthen the roster for the World Baseball Classic.

South Korea’s national baseball team head coach Ryu Ji-hyun recently expressed his desire to recruit up to 3 or 4 Korean-born Major League Baseball players raised overseas for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) scheduled for March this year.

The South Korean team traveled to Saipan last Friday to begin pre-Classic training camp. The roster mainly consists of players from the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO), including utility infielder Kim Hye-seong from the Los Angeles Dodgers and relief pitcher Go Woo-suk, who recently signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers.

Ryu Ji-hyun also hopes that other MLB players will participate in the Classic from March 5 to 17. According to the tournament’s flexible eligibility rules, a player can represent a country if at least one parent was born there. In the 2023 Classic, South Korea recruited Tommy Edman, a Gold Glove-winning infielder born in the U.S. with a Korean mother.

Edman is unable to play this time due to recovery from ankle surgery, but Ryu revealed that Detroit Tigers outfielder Jahmai Jones and St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Riley O’Brien—both U.S.-born players with Korean mothers—are very likely to represent South Korea.

“We have completed all necessary procedures and expect to receive official approval from the Classic organizers by the end of January,” Ryu Ji-hyun told reporters at Incheon International Airport. “Jones and O’Brien have consistently shown strong willingness to participate, and barring any major changes, they should join the team. Overall, I anticipate three to four players of this kind will be on the roster.”

Jones, 28, had an outstanding 2025 season, appearing in 72 games with 7 home runs and 23 RBIs, posting a batting line of .287/.387/.550, all career highs. O’Brien, 30, also enjoyed his best season, pitching 48 innings over 42 games with a 2.06 ERA and 6 saves.

Additionally, the KBO is keeping an eye on other players of Korean descent, including mixed-heritage pitcher Dane Dunning, who has 136 MLB appearances, and veteran outfielder Rob Refsnyder, who was born in Korea but adopted by an American family as a child.

Ryu Ji-hyun noted that the Saipan training camp will focus on gradually increasing pitchers’ workloads since players typically do not prepare for the intense March tournament as early as January in non-Classic years. He emphasized, “Young players can observe the training habits of veterans and understand how they maintain high performance over time, which is crucial for team morale.”

Veteran players attending this camp include former MLB All-Star pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin, who will turn 39 in two months and currently plays for Hanwha Eagles, as well as 41-year-old relief pitcher Noh Kyung-eun, the oldest player in the KBO and member of the SSG Landers.

The Saipan camp will continue until January 21, after which the national team will move to Okinawa, Japan, for the next phase of training in mid-February. Ryu Ji-hyun stated that Korean-American players will not attend the Okinawa camp due to their obligation to participate in their MLB teams’ spring training.

As for MLB players Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves and Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants, neither attended the Saipan camp this month. If their MLB teams approve, they will join the national team directly in Japan to prepare for the first round. Ryu commented, “Both have already planned individual off-season training, so missing this camp phase is not an issue.”

South Korea aims to make a breakthrough in this Classic, targeting their first advancement to the second round since finishing as runners-up in 2009.