Rockies' Oh Seung-hwan to undergo season-ending elbow surgery

SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- Colorado Rockies' South Korean reliever Oh Seung-hwan has been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a right elbow injury.

Colorado manager Bud Black said in Denver on Tuesday (local time) that the 37-year-old right-hander will have a cleanup procedure on his pitching elbow in South Korea and is done for the year.

Oh struggled with a 9.33 ERA in 21 appearances this year before going on the 10-day injured list on June 10 with a left abdominal strain. He faced hitters at Coors Field in Denver two weeks ago, and Black disclosed the elbow injury Tuesday.

Oh, who joined the Rockies following a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays last summer, is in the final year of his contract. After spending the first nine seasons of his professional career in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), Oh pitched for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan from 2014 to 2015 and then for the St Louis Cardinals from 2016 to 2017.

He signed with the Blue Jays as a free agent in February 2018 and was dealt to the Rockies five months later.

Oh went 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 73 games split between the Jays and the Rockies. He allowed 20 earned runs in 68 1/3 innings last year but was touched for 19 earned runs in just 18 1/3 innings this year.

After the 2018 season, Oh told South Korean reporters that he was mentally drained from pitching overseas, and he wanted to wrap up his career in the KBO.

jeeho@yna.co.kr
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