Yankees call up Korean 1B Choi Ji-man

By Baek Byung-yeul

The New York Yankees of the American League of Major League Baseball (MLB) announced Wednesday they will sign Korean infielder Choi Ji-man to a major league contract.

Following Tuesday’s 4-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Yankees relied on designated hitter/first baseman Chris Carter to cover first base for the second time in 11 days. Playing 62 games this season, Carter has batted .201 with eight home runs and 26 RBIs.

Choi made his major league debut last year with the Los Angeles Angels, after spending five seasons in the minors, and batted .170 with five home runs and 12 RBIs. Instead of accepting an assignment to the minors in the Angels system, the 26-year-old signed with the Yankees over the winter and has played with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre where he has batted .298 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 56 games.

The left-handed hitter is expected to play first base until Greg Bird or Tyler Austin is ready to return from the disabled list.

Dodgers’ Ryu placed on disabled list with foot injury

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ Korean starting pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin was placed on the 10-day disabled list (DL) with a left foot contusion, Tuesday.

Ryu was hit on his left foot by a hard hit line drive from Andrelton Simmons in the fourth inning during his team’s game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium in Anaheim on June 28.

He went for X-rays on his left foot the next day and the scan came back clean. However, the Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts said Ryu still feels sore. The Dodgers called up right-hander Ross Stripling from the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers.

This is Ryu’s second DL stint this season. He was on the 10-day DL with a hip injury in May.

“Hyun-jin is in the clear but he’s still sore,” Roberts told MLB.com. “I don’t know what day he’ll come back to start. Obviously it’ll be in the second half but where we’ll slot him, we don’t know yet.

“We just want him to feel good about his foot, get back on the mound and get in a game at some point. Then we’ll go from there.”

After missing nearly two seasons with shoulder and elbow surgeries, Ryu made a comeback this season. In 14 games this season, the left-hander recorded three wins and six losses with an ERA of 4.21.