Seoul: He pitched for only about three months in South Korea last year before suffering a season-ending hip injury, but the Kiwoom Heroes' American left-hander Kenny Rosenberg fell so in love with his adopted country that he missed everything about it after he left - from his teammates and coaches to friends he made off the field to Korean food.

According to Yonhap News Agency, with his injury now behind him, Rosenberg is back with the Heroes this year, albeit on much less stable ground. He signed a six-week, US$50,000 contract as a temporary replacement for injured pitcher Nathan Wiles on April 21. Since 2024, teams in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) have been allowed to acquire foreign players on short-term deals in place of injured incumbents who are out for at least six weeks, and those replacements may also sign six-week extensions as their teams see fit. However, Rosenberg and the Heroes spent half of his contract getting the player's work visa issued. Rosenberg only arrived in South Korea on May 14 and made his season debut two days later. At most, Rosenberg has two more starts left, including one Friday evening, before his six-week deal expires.

In an interview with Yonhap News Agency at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the eve of his second start, Rosenberg said he will try to soak up his second go-around in the KBO while he can. "It's impossible not to think about it. If I told you I'm not even thinking about it and I don't care about it, that would be a lie," Rosenberg said of his uncertain future. "I'm here under contract for (Friday) and for one more start, and the rest of that is out of my hands. I don't know what the team has planned, but I can tell you that I love Korea and it's really nice to be back playing baseball."

"That was my first game in almost a year," Rosenberg added, referring to his May 14 outing against the NC Dinos, when he gave up a run on two hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. "It was a challenge to get off the plane Thursday and pitch on Saturday, but I was ready for it and prepared as well as I could. There's always little things in the game that you wish you had done better, but I was happy with it overall."

Rosenberg said he tried to stay prepared for a new opportunity by throwing live batting practice sessions near his California home. But it still didn't come close to having a full spring training, followed by a gradual buildup through preseason games. Rosenberg is essentially ramping up in games that count, and by the time he is fully stretched out for a regular starter's workload, he may be pitching for someone else.

Rosenberg said he didn't want to look that far down the road yet. "I'm really looking forward to these next two, and one way or another, I know I'm going to have more baseball games in my future," he said. "I don't know where they'll be or what uniform I'll be wearing, but I'm excited for those, too."

While Rosenberg is trying to make the most of his time here, Wiles, the pitcher Rosenberg is filling in for, has been working out with the Heroes on his way back from a shoulder injury. This could have created an awkward situation, with one trying to recover from an injury to reclaim his spot in the rotation and the other trying to pitch well enough to force the team to make a tough decision later. But Rosenberg said both of them understand the business nature of the situation.

"It's not awkward at all. It helps to have that preexisting relationship," he said. "But ultimately, I want him to get healthy. I want him to have success. I want myself to obviously have an opportunity to continue to play baseball, and hopefully it's here, but that's out of both of our hands."

Rosenberg also wants to see other Heroes teammates do well, even if he may not be around them for the full season. He said he had been keeping track of how the Heroes were doing even before he signed and started paying closer attention after he accepted the six-week offer. Rosenberg said he has been particularly happy that infielder Kim Woong-bin finally enjoyed his moment in the spotlight this week.

Kim delivered a walk-off home run off SSG Landers reliever Jo Byeong-hyeon on Tuesday and then got a walk-off single off Jo the next day - making him the first KBO player ever to record walk-off hits in back-to-back games against the same pitcher. Being around the boys and cheering from the dugout is what Rosenberg also missed during his time away.

"To see him now getting to play every day, nobody's happier for him than I am," Rosenberg said of Kim, a longtime minor leaguer who has never appeared in more than 97 games in any of his nine previous KBO seasons. "He's just a super nice guy. He's got a young kid like myself, so we've kind of bonded over being dads. So I'm super happy for him."