Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (24) decided not to participate in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) due to a knee injury. He was struck by lightning a day before joining the Dominican Republic national team.

Local media such as ‘MLB.com’ reported on the 5th (hereinafter Korean time) that Guerrero had a slight inflammation in his right knee as a result of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), but no structural damage. It’s not a big injury, but in terms of player protection, Toronto is watching Guerrero’s condition more.

As a result, participation in the WBC was also canceled. Guerrero was originally scheduled to head to Miami, the U.S., where the WBC national team of the Dominican Republic is located, on the 6th, but a sudden injury prevented him.

Guerrero hit a timely hit with one RBI in the second inning in an exhibition game against the Tampa Bay Rays the previous day (4th), and then felt pain in his right knee while running from 1st to 2nd base during base play and was replaced in the 3rd inning defense.

Guerrero, who debuted in 2019, is a heavy hitter with a batting average of 2.84, 547 hits, 104 homers, 310 RBIs, and an OPS of .862 in 504 major league seasons in four seasons. In 2021, he became the American League (AL) home run king (48) and swept first place in on-base percentage (.401), slugging percentage (.601) and OPS (1.002), but was satisfied with the second MVP, behind Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), who played an active role as a pitcher. I had to.

Last year, he had a batting average of .274, 175 hits, 32 homers, 97 RBIs, and an OPS of .818 in 160 games. He fell short of expectations with an OPS of .803, 12 homers, 40 RBIs, a batting average of 2.7, 9, 12 home runs, and 68 games in the second half. At the point where a rebound was needed, dark clouds hung over him as he was injured before the season. 온라인바카라

The Dominican Republic, which is considered a candidate for the WBC championship, was also hit hard by Guerrero’s departure. The Dominican Republic, which is seeking its second WBC title since 2013, is led by last year’s National League (NL) unanimous Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara (Miami), with Manny Machado (San Diego), Rafael Devers (Boston), and Jeremy Pena (Houston) leading the mound. ), Wander Franco (Tampa Bay), Julio Rodriguez (Seattle), Juan Soto (San Diego), Teosca Hernandez (Seattle), and Nelson Cruz (San Diego).

The Dominican Republic, which belongs to Group D along with Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Israel and Nicaragua, will have its first group stage match against Venezuela in Miami, USA on the 12th. With one week left until the tournament, I wonder who will join as Guerrero’s replacement.