In the end, the 'South Korean national team's Korea broke down.' During the camp, he suddenly returned home → He failed to participate in the WBC, and 'Hanwha managed it like this...'

*This content was translated by AI.

Sad news has been delivered to Korean fans. Moon Dong-joo (23, Hanwha), who was expected to be the right-hander ace of the Korean baseball team, returned home midway due to injury, and his participation in the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) tournament was canceled. It is a huge negative factor for the Korean baseball team, which expected him to play the first starting role.

An official from Hanwha said on the 6th, "Moon Dong-ju temporarily returned home for hospital treatment today (6th). After receiving medical treatment at the hospital on the 7th, he will leave for Melbourne, Australia, where Hanwha's spring camp is located, on the 8th, and join the team," he said.

He then said, "I was going to see Moon Dong-ju's condition and receive medical treatment before joining Okinawa (second camp) in Japan. However, due to the Lunar New Year holiday relationship, we decided to push the schedule and receive medical treatment," he explained.

Coincidentally, it was the day when the national team's roster was announced to play in the 2026 WBC national team. The injury prevented Moon from making the final 30 members of the WBC baseball team. If it wasn't for shoulder pain, this WBC national team was a likely situation. However, due to the unfortunate injury, the national team's power plan was also disrupted.

The head coach of the national team also expressed regret. Ryu Ji-hyun, manager of the Korean national baseball team, said, "I was contacted for the first time by the Hanwha team on the 30th of last month. At that time, I heard that Moon Dong-ju's shoulder was in poor condition, so he failed to make the first scheduled bullpen pitch. Since then, I have continuously communicated with the club about whether I have recovered my condition," he said.

"The pain disappeared, so we pitched a bullpen (22) on the 1st." I heard that the pain has disappeared a little. And I tried to throw a bullpen session again on the morning of the 4th, but I was not in good condition from the time I played catch. I threw one or two balls, but I heard that the pain was worse than the first bullpen pitching. The Hanwha team was thinking about taking a break for five to seven days, he added.

Coach Ryu said, "Considering the recovery process such as the national team's practice game schedule, catch ball, and step-by-step pitching program, it was difficult to expect a top pitch in the WBC tournament," adding, "Moon Dong-ju throws the fastest ball in the KBO league and pitches stably." I was going to use it for the most important game in the first round of the WBC. As Moon Dong-ju is out, we need to re-establish our strategy," he said, expressing his regret.

After graduating from Gwangju Hwajeong Elementary School, Mudeung Middle School, and Jinheung High School, Moon Dong-ju wore the Hanwha Eagles uniform as the first rookie designation in 2022. The down payment for joining the team is 500 million won. In the 2022 season, his first year as a member, he marked 1 win, 3 losses and 2 holds with an ERA of 5.65 in 13 games. During 28 ⅔ innings, he had 28 hits (five home runs) with 14 walks and 19 runs (18 earned runs) with 36 strikeouts.

Moon Dong-ju joined the starting rotation in earnest in the 2023 season, his second year as a professional and was in charge of Hanwha's mound. He started 23 games in the 2023 season and went 8-8 with a 3.72 ERA. During 118 ⅔ innings, he pitched 113 hits (six homers), 42 walks, 95 strikeouts, 52 runs (49 earned runs) per inning (WHIP) of 1.31 and 0.249. He pitched seven quality starts (three earned runs or less in six innings as a starter).

In particular, at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held during the season, he took the mound as the starting pitcher for the finals and stood tall as the main player in winning the gold medal. He also impressed with his outstanding pitching at the 2023 Asian Professional Baseball Championship (APBC). In the end, after the end of the 2023 season, he won the Rookie of the Year award, which can only be won once in his life.

Moon Dong-ju pitched in 21 games in the 2024 season, posting a 7-7 record with a 5.17 ERA. As a fourth starter that year, he had 148 hits (14 homers) with 38 walks and 96 strikeouts, four-hit balls, and 71 runs (64 earned runs) in 111 ⅓ innings. And last season, he pitched in 24 games, recording 11 wins and 5 losses with a 4.02 ERA, and 112 hits (7 home runs), 31 walks, 135 strikeouts, 57 runs (54 earned runs) WHIP 1.18 and a 0.243 hit rate in a total of 121 innings. He proved his ability by pitching 11 quality starts.

However, Moon Dong-ju often suffered from injuries due to the influence of pitching in high school. In the 2022 season, his first year as a member of the club, he left the club with side pain during bullpen pitching ahead of the opening. As a result of the examination at that time, Moon Dong-ju was diagnosed with damage to the internal oblique muscles. Then, in June of that year after his debut, he took a rest with discomfort in his right shoulder. At that time, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) showed partial rupture of the sub-scapular muscle (one of the shoulder muscles connecting the shoulder and upper arm bones) and a hematoma diagnosis.

Even in Hanwha, Moon Dong-ju has always been the subject of special management. In the 2023 season, he ended the season early after undergoing inning management. He did not play the full season in the 2024 season. In May 2024, he was removed from the first team entry after being diagnosed with partial damage to the scapula (shoulder bone). Then, in early September of that year, he left again due to shoulder pain and was out for the season. That year, his joining the Premier 12 national team was also canceled. In the 2025 season, he headed to the second division due to partial damage to the scapula (shoulder bone) in May. He was then canceled from the first-team entry on August 16 when he was diagnosed with a bruise after hitting his elbow on the pitch against NC.

Before leaving the spring camp in January, Moon Dong-ju said, "I think it's time to get better because I've been sick for so long. I couldn't train at all during basic military training, but I was glad that my body was built much faster after exercising in a warm pataya. It can be said that the shoulder has also recovered close to 100 percent," he said. However, due to an unexpected injury, his participation in the WBC tournament was also canceled, and unfortunately, he had to promise the next one.

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*This content was translated by AI.