Minneapolis – Woo-Suk Go was the last guy anyone expected to make his rookie debut with the Minnesota Twins this year. Not because he hadn’t earned it, but because he wasn’t even in their system until the Twins acquired him from the Detroit Tigers on Sunday for cash considerations.
Go, 27, is from South Korea and arrived stateside in 2024 when the San Diego Padres signed him to a minor-league deal. He had a decent start to his career in San Diego’s farm system. However, it was short-lived when the Miami Marlins included him in the trade package that sent former Twins infielder Luis Arraez to the Padres on May 4, 2024.
He’s since bounced around between Miami and Detroit’s farm systems. Woo-Suk Go struggled in his first two seasons, but he was electric this year with Triple-A Toledo. He owned a 1.96 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 54 strikeouts, and 13 walks over 41 ⅓ innings with the Mud Hens.
Go had an upward mobility clause in his contract, and he enacted it. Since the Tigers didn’t call him up, the Twins moved to get him.
“When I first heard the news, obviously I still couldn’t believe it,” Go said through his interpreter, Leo Bae. “Like, ‘Is it happening? Is it for real?’ When we got a call from the GM, Jeremy, I started realizing, ‘Oh, God, I’m going to the big leagues.’ That’s when I started realizing it, but until then, I just couldn’t believe it.”
“You know, it doesn’t always line up on those assignment clauses, just circumstance and opportunity,” explained Twins GM Jeremy Zoll. “But this was one where, just given his performance and where we’re at, felt like it was a good chance to try and take a shot.”
The Twins already had a 40-man spot still open from when they designated Austin Voth for assignment on June 24, making it an easy add for Go. They optioned Cody Laweryson in Go’s place.
Minnesota’s scouting report on Go is that he has good north-south movement on his pitches and generates a solid amount of swing-and-miss on his off-speed pitches.
“I added a new pitch on top of the pitch arsenal that I used in Korea,” Go said. “Fastball, slider, and curveball was my original arsenal. I added a splitter when I came over here. Just pitching in the minor leagues, I built more confidence as I pitched more against the hitters. My mindset was to attack the zone, stay aggressive, and try to stay positive.”
The Twins have had a rotating cast of relievers, many of whom they’ve picked up midseason, and Go is the latest addition in that trend. However, Go is a unique acquisition, given his upward-mobility clause. He has the usual rookie status on the 40-man roster with all three of his options intact.
Zoll and Twins manager Derek Shelton have only seen Woo-Suk Go pitch on video. Still, they’ve enjoyed what they’ve seen and appreciate the scouting department’s work, which has allowed the Twins to be opportunistic.
“He’s someone at different points along the way…we thought could be an interesting guy that we think we can help,” said Zoll. “A couple of things that might be able to help him from a pitch mix and usage perspective, but he had done a nice job in Double-A and Triple-A this year in Detroit’s system.”
“I think it’s a situation where we’ve liked his stuff for the last couple years,” Shelton said. “Obviously he pitched on the Korean WBC team, and when we had the opportunity to acquire him – I think we’re going to continue to look at how we add to our bullpen, whether it’s conventional ways, unconventional ways – be able to get a look at him, and the fact that he has options I think is definitely helpful for us.”
While the last 48 hours have been a bit of a whirlwind for Go, he finds it fitting that he gets to join the Twins for his MLB debut because he pitched all seven seasons with the LG Twins in the KBO. He almost re-signed with a KBO team this winter, but after pitching for Korea in the WBC, he knew he’d have to try to go back to the minors and show his improvements from his first two seasons.
“My first two years in the States didn’t really go the way I thought, but in those two years, I learned a lot about USA baseball,” Go said. “I learned a lot about baseball, then I got better as a player. Not coming back this year, I knew I was going to regret it, for sure, the rest of my life. Even though it was a minor league contract, I decided to come here and just grind it out to hopefully make my dream.”
The journey has been a long one for Woo-Suk Go to get to this point, and it may be a day or two before Shelton uses him out of the bullpen. Still, he’s more than happy to finally find himself a bullpen call away from accomplishing his lifelong dream.
