Cardinals' lefty Kim back to training from kidney illness

St. Louis Cardinals' lefty Kim Kwang-hyun wipes away sweat during a Major League Baseball game against Pittsburg Pirates at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, July 24. / AP-Yonhap

By Jhoo Dong-chan

St. Louis Cardinals' lefty Kim Kwang-hyun has returned to the team's training session. He was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sept. 5 after being diagnosed with renal infarction caused by a blockage of blood flow to a kidney.

Kim was hospitalized in Chicago for kidney surgery last Saturday.

St. Louis manager Mike Shildt said Tuesday that Kim has returned to the team's training session and will meet with medical staff soon to decide whether he can join the rotation in the coming days.

"Every day he gets a little stronger, builds back up and has energy and has ability to take that next step," Shildt said.

"We will continue to evaluate him and make sure he can progress and everything's in the right spot. But so far so good."

Korean media outlets had expressed their concerns over the possibility Kim may have to miss his debut season, but his ailment was later found to be not critical and treatable with a simple surgery.

Kim signed a two-year $8 million deal with the Cardinals in December after 13 successful seasons with the SK Wyverns in the KBO. He made his big-league debut as a closer on July 24, and then joined the team's starting rotation last month.