St. louis: JJ Wetherholt, a highly touted prospect for the St. Louis Cardinals, once dreamed of playing for South Korea, the country of his grandmother's birth, at this year's World Baseball Classic (WBC). But then he found out, in his own words, he is "not Korean enough" to be eligible for the tournament.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Wetherholt expressed his disappointment, stating, "Unfortunately, I am not Korean enough. You need a direct parent to be a citizen," during a conversation with reporters in St. Louis on Sunday. "And my grandma is the one who's a citizen. It was a dream of mine, and my grandma's getting old, so I really wanted to play for them just because I think it would really mean a lot to her. But unfortunately, (I) won't be able to do it."

The rules of the WBC stipulate that players can represent a country if at least one parent is a citizen of that nation or was born there. For instance, South Korea had the services of Gold Glove-winning infielder Tommy Edman for the 2023 WBC, with Edman's mother being Korean. For this year's tournament, Cardinals pitcher Riley O'Brien, who has a Korean mother, has committed to playing for the South Korean national team.

Wetherholt mentioned a potential workaround, saying, "I told my dad, technically, I believe he's still potentially eligible so he'll have to do some things on that side to see if he can even gain (Korean) citizenship. I'm like, 'Pops, might need you here.'"

At 23, Wetherholt was a first-round choice by the Cardinals in the 2024 draft. He reached Triple-A last year, batting an impressive .314/.416/.562 with 10 home runs, 25 RBIs, and nine steals in just 47 games for the Memphis Redbirds. Primarily a shortstop, Wetherholt has also played second base and third base in Triple-A.

His inclusion could have bolstered South Korea's infield, which will be without two injured stars, Kim Ha-seong of the Atlanta Braves and Song Sung-mun of the San Diego Padres.