Jung Ho Kang may have played his last major-league game.

The Korean infielder has been unable to secure a United States work visa to join the Pittsburgh Pirates due to his arrest for driving under the influence over the winter in his homeland. As a result, he has not played a game for the Pirates this season.

With just one year remaining on his four-year, $11-million contract after this one, the possibility of Kang not being able to resume his career in Pittsburgh is growing larger by the day. General manager Neal Huntington has already said Kang is unlikely to return this season - but on Sunday, Huntington acknowledged for the first time that the team is beginning to prepare for life without the 30-year-old infielder.

"That's been an unfortunate reality from the outset that he may never get a visa again," Huntington told MLB.com's Adam Berry. "We worked the process, worked the process again and have not gotten a different result. We'll attack it in different ways again the next time through and hope there is a different outcome. We do need to begin to prepare as if he's not coming back."

Huntington even linked Saturday's acquisition of utility man Sean Rodriguez from Atlanta to Kang's tenure with the club likely being over.

"Part of this (Rodriguez) acquisition was it gives us another quality infielder," Huntington said. "If we're able to get Kang back into the country, then we have depth."

Related: Pirates president says Kang has exhausted all his chances

Kang acquitted himself well on the field during his two seasons with the Pirates following a stellar nine-year turn in the Korean Baseball Organization. He posted an .838 OPS with 36 home runs and 6.2 wins above replacement in 229 games for the Pirates, and finished third in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2015.

But his on-field performance was quickly overshadowed by his legal troubles that began mounting during the 2016 campaign. Kang was charged with his third DUI in eight years this past December and was also charged with fleeing the scene of the accident; he was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence and agreed to enter an alcohol treatment program.

A sexual assault claim against Kang was also investigated by Chicago police last July. Kang was never charged with a crime following that allegation.

Pittsburgh can buy out Kang's $5.5-million 2019 club option after next season for the price of $250,000. He's scheduled to earn $3 million in 2018.