Riley O’Brien, half-Korean reliever for the St. Louis Cardinals set to pitch for South Korea at the upcoming World Baseball Classic (WBC), is dealing with a calf injury — the latest blow for the country already missing some key pitchers. MLB.com reported Tuesday (U.S. local time) that O’Brien picked up what the player called a mild right calf strain during a live bullpen session on Saturday at the Cardinals’ spring training site in Jupiter, Florida. The right-hander has not thrown off a mound since, according to the report. “It felt better today than it did yesterday,” O’Brien was quoted as saying on Tuesday. “Hopefully, it’s nothing too long-term.” With the WBC starting on March 5 in Tokyo and South Korea scheduled to play tuneup games in Osaka in the days before that, O’Brien’s availability for the national team may be in jeopardy. Under the WBC’s eligibility rules, players can represent the country of birth of one of their parents, even if those players themselves weren’t born in that country. South Korea selected four U.S.-born players of Korean descent this time, with O’Brien joined
