34-year-old Cui Zhiwan ended his career in the major leagues! In mid-May, he enlisted in the army and then entered the Korean vocational draft

Choi Ji-man, a 34-year-old Korean major league player, plans to return to South Korea to continue playing after completing his major league career, and he plans to return to Korean professional baseball after completing his military service and completing a two-year grace period.

Choi Ji-man's agency "Sports Vibe" officially announced today that "Choi Ji-wan is expected to enlist in the military on May 15, 2025 in order to fulfill his military service obligation as a Korean national."

He added, "Even though Choi has been fighting overseas for many years, he has never forgotten his national defense obligations as a citizen, and he decided to enlist in the army in order to fulfill his promise to the fans."

Sports Vibe added, "Athlete Choi Zhiwan will honestly fulfill his military service obligations, and we will continue to support the athlete to serve smoothly and return healthily."

After being released by the Mets in June last year, Choi was unable to find a new owner, but continued to train on his own, waiting for offers from major league teams, but ultimately failed to do so.

As a result, he began to have the idea of returning to Korean professional baseball, participating in the spring training of the LG team in Arizona in February this year, and revealing the idea of returning to the Korean professional league when meeting with the Korean media, which attracted great attention.

Since Choi Ji-wan is directly challenging the major leagues after graduating from high school, he will have to go through a two-year buffer period if he wants to return to the Korean job. His last time playing for a major league team was in June 2024, so he won't be able to play for a Korean professional team for the next two years.

He is expected to complete his military service and participate in the rookie draft. While his major league experience has been impressive, he is approaching 36 by then, and it remains to be seen how the teams will evaluate him.

Cui Zhiwan graduated from Dongshan High School, challenged Major League Baseball after graduating from high school, signed a contract with the Mariners in 2009, then came to the Golden Orioles, and made his major league debut with the Los Angeles Angels in 2016.

Since then, he has played for the New York Yankees, Brewers, Rays, Buccaneers and Padres, playing a total of 8 seasons in the major leagues, accumulating 525 games with a batting percentage of 0.234, a base percentage of 0.338, a batting percentage of 0.426, hitting 67 home runs, 238 RBIs, 367 batting and 190 RBIs, and an OPS (batting average + batting percentage) of 0.764.

He was considered an offensive firepower player at first base and designated strikes, reaching the pinnacle of his career with the Rays in 2018, playing in 414 games with the Rays in five years, batting average of 0.245 and OPS of 0.783, which is 19% higher than the league average.

However, it has not fared well in 2023, when it is about to qualify as a free agent. He was traded to the Pirates before the start of the season, but was unable to perform due to injury, and was later traded to the Padres again, where he still failed to show his skills. Before the 2024 season, he signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets, but his contract was terminated from the team in June, and he has been in a state of non-ownership since then.