By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean minor leaguer Bae Ji-hwan has been released by his Triple-A club.

The Syracuse Mets, affiliate of the New York Mets, announced Tuesday (local time) that they have released their South Korean outfielder.

Bae batted .257 with five home runs, 32 RBIs and 36 steals in 91 games for the Syracuse Mets. He hit a rough patch in July, though, batting just .190 in 18 games that month.

Bae now faces an uncertain future at age 27.

He signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates out of high school in 2018 and made his major league debut with them four years later.

In 2023, Bae played in a career-high 111 games, putting up a .231/.296/.311 line with 24 steals.

But he was limited to just 29 games in 2024 and 13 games in 2025, as he began spending far more time in the minors.

After the Pirates waived him last fall, the New York Mets threw him a lifeline but never called him up to the majors.

The versatile speedster has played second base, shortstop and all three outfield positions in his major league career. In Triple-A this year, Bae logged time at second base and the three outfield positions.

jeeho@yna.co.kr

(END)

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