Go Woo-suk joins San Diego Padres on two-year deal

Korean pitcher Go Woo-suk has signed with the San Diego Padres on a two-year deal, the club announced Wednesday. Go, 25, will reportedly earn $4.5 million, according to an X post from New York Post columnist Joel Sherman.

Go Woo-suk pitches for the LG Twins during Game 1 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in southern Seoul on Oct. 7, 2023. [NEWS1]

Korean pitcher Go Woo-suk has signed with the San Diego Padres on a two-year deal, the club announced Wednesday.

Go, 25, will reportedly earn $4.5 million, according to an X post from New York Post columnist Joel Sherman.

The Padres have not confirmed the figure, but did confirm that there is a mutual option to extend the deal for the 2026 season.

Go was the KBO-winning LG Twins’ final pitcher on the mound during Game 5 of last year’s historic Korean Series. He delivered three outs during the ninth inning to secure a 6-2 finish over runners-up KT Wiz and win the series 4-1.

He’s pitched for the Twins since 2017. Go has a career 3.18 ERA over 354 appearances, recording 19 wins and 26 losses. Go ended the Twins’ title-winning season with a 3.68 ERA over three wins and eight losses, appearing in 44 games. Over the last three seasons, Go has posted a 2.23 ERA with 207 strikeouts against 66 walks.

Go is the second Korean player to move to the Majors this winter, following in the footsteps of his brother-in-law Lee Jung-hoo, who moved further up the coast with the San Francisco Giants on a record 6-year, $113 million deal.

Both Lee and Go have played on the international stage, too. They were called up to represent Korea at last year’s World Baseball Classic, although Lee missed the tournament due to an ankle injury that cut his season short in July.

Both played for Korea at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 where the national team finished fourth after losing 10-4 to the Dominican Republic during the bronze-medal round. Go is also the second Korean player to join the current San Diego Padres roster, alongside utility man Kim Ha-seong who has played for the California club since the 2021 season.

Although he’s about to move to San Diego, Go will likely become the first Korean player ever to make his major league debut in Korea.

The San Diego Padres are set to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Seoul Series at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul in March, officially starting the 2024 MLB season with the first non-exhibition games ever to be held in Korea.

BY JIM BULLEY AND MARY YANG [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]