As the 2026 Major League Baseball regular season gets underway, Lee Jung-hoo of the San Francisco Giants appears to be the only Korean major leaguer who will take the field on Opening Day.
MLB kicks off its official season on March 26 (Korea time) with a matchup between the New York Yankees and the San Francisco Giants, with the full schedule beginning on March 27. As spring training winds down, each team's Opening Day roster is taking shape.
Among Korean players, Lee Jung-hoo is the only one expected to make an Opening Day appearance. Last season, he played in 150 games, batting .266 with eight home runs, 55 RBIs and a .734 OPS (on-base plus slugging). In spring training this year, he has hit .455 (10-for-22) over eight games, showcasing a red-hot bat and raising expectations for his regular-season performance.
Kim Hye-seong of the Los Angeles Dodgers, however, was left off the Opening Day roster. Despite posting a .407 batting average (11-for-27) with one home run and six RBIs over nine spring training games, the club opted to send him to the minor leagues, saying it "determined there were aspects of his swing that needed correction."
Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves suffered a torn finger tendon after slipping on ice this winter and will begin the season on the injured list. Bae Ji-hwan of the New York Mets and Go Woo-suk of the Detroit Tigers are also set to start the season in the minor leagues.