*Photo from the Korea Times*
Another foreign arm is heading to the states. The San Diego Padres and RHP Woo Suk Go have agreed to a two year, $4.5 million contract, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The deal has been confirmed.
Go has been a closer for the past 5 seasons, hitting or exceeding 30 saves in 3 of those years and exceeding 40 saves once. In each of the last 4 seasons, he's averaged in the double digits of strikeouts per 9 innings, reaching a career high 12.1 in 2023. He is also prone to walks, averaging 4.5 walks per 9 last season.
2023 served as Go's 7th season with the LG Twins of the KBO, the highest level of baseball in Korea. He posted a 3.68 ERA and 1.364 WHIP while striking out 59 hitters, picking up 15 saves in 44 innings over 44 appearances for the Twins.
Since Go has only played 7 seasons in the KBO, the Padres are on the hook for a release fee to the Twins. Go's fastball generally sits in the mid 90s on the radar gun but can reach as high as 98, and he pairs that with a few breaking pitches to induce a lot of strikeouts.
The 25 year old Go has played with the Twins in each of his 7 years in the KBO. He has a 3.18 ERA and 1.271 WHIP to his name while averaging 4 walks per 9 and 9.8 strikeouts per 9. He's thrown 368 1/3 innings over 354 relief appearances, picking up 139 saves in the 5 seasons he's been the Twins' closer.
So far this offseason, the Padres have signed Yuki Matsui to aid their bullpen as well, with Matsui and Go likely being the top two high leverage options. Go also joins Matsui, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Jung-Hoo Lee as players from Japan and Korea to sign with MLB teams this offseason.
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