'Minor 127 Home Run' Super Utility Man Finally Runs With Taegeuk mark... WBC, how do you count?

*This content was translated by AI.

Shay Witcom (28, Houston Astros) will play with the national flag. The Korean national baseball team, which will participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), has taken a breather.

According to multiple media outlets, including Brian McTigert, a reporter for the Major League's official website MLB.com , Houston Astros general manager Dana Brown acknowledged Witcom's participation in the WBC in a meeting with local reporters on the 4th (Korea time).

"Witcom will play for the Korean national team and Jeremy Peña will play for the Dominican Republic," Brown said. Jack Degenzo will also join the Italian national team. Isak Paredis, a Mexican national, will not participate," he said.

Manager Ryu Ji-hyun, who already hinted at the joining of closing resources Riley Jun-young O'Brien (St. Louis) and outfielder Germai Jones (Detroit Tigers), was cautious about Witcom.

Witcom is an essential resource for the national team. Whitcomb, who was drafted by Houston with the 160th overall pick in the fifth round in the 2020 draft, still lacks major league experience. He made his debut in 2024 and played only 40 games in two seasons, hitting a batting average of 0.178 with one home run.

But it was different in the minor leagues. He hit 127 home runs in five seasons after first stepping into the minor leagues in 2021. In 2023, he became the home run king with 35 home runs, and also showed off his scary presence with a batting average of 0.267 25 home runs and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 0.869 in 107 games last season.

The national team had a big hole in the infield due to the sudden injuries of Song Sung-moon (San Diego) and Kim Ha-sung (Atlanta).

Witcom is a resource that will ease the defense's worries even more. Except for pitchers and catchers, he is a player who can play all positions. Last year, he played first, second, third and shortstop in the minor leagues, and left and right in the outfield. In the big league, he also showed off his versatility by playing second, third, and left field evenly.

In fact, it is a super utility resource that is safe to say that there is no main position. If it is judged that the infield lacks weight, it can be deployed as an infielder, and on the contrary, it can be used in the outfield as much as possible. It even has compliance feet with 112 steals.

It is important for WBC to secure as many pitchers as possible due to the limit on the number of pitches. The presence of Witcom, who can play both infield and outfield, may ease manager Ryu Ji-hyun's worries. Initially, he expressed his intention to make up 15 pitchers and fielders alike, but if there are super-utility resources such as Witcom, it is a possible scenario to take one more pitcher.

The deadline for submitting the final entry to the WBC has already closed at 2 p.m. that day. However, WBC asked the participating countries to refrain from announcing their final list on their own, and the list of players from all participating countries will be announced through the MLB network at 9 a.m. on the 6th and will be explained at the Korea Press Center at 10 a.m.

A situation where Witcom's joining has already been revealed. Baseball fans are paying attention to what kind of change the entry will have caused as a result.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.