By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA–The San Diego Padres have officially inked a two-year deal with right-handed reliever Woo-Suk Go, including a mutual option for the 2026 season, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller announced Wednesday.
During the 2023 season with the KBO Champion LG Twins, Go delivered an impressive performance in 44 relief appearances. He achieved a career-high 12.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched, boasting a 3.68 ERA (18 ER, 44.0 IP), a 1.36 WHIP, and secured 15 saves. Against left-handed batters, Go maintained a stingy .179 opponent average, while righties hit .286 against him. Notably, he played a crucial role in securing the final out in Game 5 of the Korean Series against the KT Wiz, finishing the KBO postseason with a 1-1 record and a save. Despite being selected to the 2023 World Baseball Classic roster for the South Korean team alongside teammate Ha-Seong Kim, Go did not make an appearance in the tournament.
Throughout his seven seasons in the KBO with the LG Twins (2017-23), the 25-year-old Incheon native accumulated a 19-26 record and an impressive 139 saves in 354 career relief appearances. His overall performance showcased a 3.18 ERA (130 ER, 368.1 IP), 401 strikeouts against 163 walks, and a 1.27 WHIP. Go led the KBO in saves in 2022 with 42, and his 139 total saves from 2019-23 topped the league during that period. Over his last three seasons since 2021, Go maintained a stellar 2.32 ERA (42 ER, 162.2 IP) with 207 strikeouts against 66 walks. Remarkably, he finished in the Top 10 in the league in saves for each of the last five years (2019-23).
