'Shock' KBO-born pitcher's emotional return to MLB—only to face release within a single day... What exactly happened?

*This content was translated by AI.

Cole Irvin (32), a pitcher from the Doosan Bears who sparked controversy over an alleged "shoulder bump" incident on the KBO League stage, returned to the MLB mound for the first time in two years. However, he was left with a loss in his return game and faced release within just one day.

On the 2nd (Korean time), the Dodgers announced that they had placed Irvin on designated for assignment (DFA) status. This came just one day after he was promoted to the major league roster the previous day.

The Dodgers placed Irvin on DFA and moved Will Klein to the injured list, instead immediately calling up pitchers Kyle Hurt and Wyatt Mills from the minor leagues.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained the substitution by stating, "Irvin played a great role, but we needed a pitcher who could step in right away."

The previous day (the 1st), Irvin made his first MLB appearance since 2024 as the team's third reliever in a home game against the Boston Red Sox at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.

Irvin entered the game in the bottom of the third inning with the team trailing 0-3. Over 6 innings, he threw 102 pitches, allowing 8 hits (including one home run), issuing 3 walks, recording 5 strikeouts, and surrendering 6 earned runs.

The Dodgers took a 4-3 lead in the fifth inning. However, Irvin collapsed in the seventh, giving up five more runs as the team fell to a 4-9 defeat, leaving him with the loss. Within just one day, he faced being cut from the team.

Meanwhile, Irvin was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He made his major league debut with Philadelphia in 2019 and spent six seasons in the majors before joining the KBO last season, appearing in 134 games (93 starts), compiling a record of 28 wins and 40 losses with an ERA of 4.54 over 593 innings and recording 434 strikeouts.

Last season, Irvin joined Doosan, marking his first time playing in Korea. He appeared in 28 games on the KBO League stage, posting an 8-12 record with a 4.48 ERA before failing to secure a contract extension and leaving Korea. In February this year, he signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers, beginning the season with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets, and finally made it onto the major league roster the previous day. However, without delivering any notable performance, he ultimately had to bow out.

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*This content was translated by AI.