Woo-suk Go

Woo-suk Go (고우석)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 198 lb.
• High School Chungam High School

• Born August 6, 1998 in Incheon South Korea

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Biographical Information

Woo-suk Go has pitched in the Korea Baseball Organization and for the South Korean national team before moving to the United States in 2024. His cousin Jae-yoo Yoo has also played in the KBO, and his brother-in-law Jung-hoo Lee is an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants.

Go was the first-round pick of the LG Twins in 2017. He had a 4.50 ERA in 25 relief outings in 2017. In 2018, he was 3-5 with a 5.91 ERA in 56 games. He lived up to his promise in 2019, going 8-2 with 35 saves, a 1.52 ERA, 76 K in 71 innings and only 47 hits allowed. He was one save behind KBO leader Jae-hoon Ha. Go was the youngest pitcher to reach 30 saves in a season in KBO. He relieved Woo-young Jung in the 9th inning of the 2019 KBO All-Star Game, but he allowed 2 runs due to Yoo-seom Han's hit, and got the loss.

He then made the South Korean team that finished second in the 2019 Premier 12. In his debut, he relieved Young-ha Lee in the 7th with a 7-0 lead over Cuba. He retired Yosvani Alarcón and Erisbel Arruebarruena before Roel Santos singled, but César Prieto then grounded out. Ha took over in the 8th. Go's next outing was relieving Ha with a 3-0 deficit in the 6th against Taiwan. He went 1-2-3 against Wei-Chen Wang, Sheng-Wei Wang (K) and Yu-Chieh Kao (K). In the 7th, though, he walked Chin-Lung Hu and went 2-0 on Che-Hsuan Lin, then was relieved by Jong-hyan Won, who let the inherited run score. His final contest was against Japan, replacing Deok-ju Ham in the 7th with a 9-8 deficit. He walked Shuta Tonosaki and Tetsuto Yamada. After a Sosuke Genda sacrifice, his wildness continued as he walked Yoshihiro Maru and hit Kensuke Kondo to force in a run. He recovered to fan Hideto Asamura and retire Masataka Yoshida. Kyeong-chan Moon relieved in the 8th.

Go suffered from left knee injury in 2020, so he only collected 17 saves with a 4.10 ERA in 40 appearances. After recovering from the injury, Go notched 30 saves with a 2.17 ERA, and ranked 5th in saves (14 behind Seung-hwan Oh) in 2021. He made it onto the Korean roster for the 2020 Olympics, but Go struggled just as he did in other international events. He gave up 2 hits in 1/3 of an inning against the USA, then relieved Sang-woo Cho in the 8th inning against Japan. Go struck out Hideto Asamura, and Yuki Yanagita hit a single. He then forced Kensuke Kondoh to hit a grounder. It could have been a double play, but Go was unable to find first base with his foot after catching the relay from shortstop Ji-hwan Oh, and Yamada was safe. This error was fatal for the South Koreans, because Go then intentionally walked Munetaka Murakami and walked catcher Takuya Kai to load the bases. Tetsuto Yamada then hit a 3-run double and Japan advanced to Gold Medal game. Go pitched 2 1/3 shutout innings against Dominican Republic in the Bronze Medal game, but South Korea still lost to them due to Seung-hwan Oh's blown save.

The Incheon native improved in 2022, and he pitched a shutout inning in the 2022 KBO All-Star Game. He broke Jung Bong's team record with his 39th save on September 23, and became the youngest pitcher to notch 40 saves in a season on September 27. He had 42 saves with a 1.48 ERA in 61 games in 2022 season, and led the league in saves. Go then represented South Korea in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, but he didn't have any appearances due to an injury. Go struggled in 2023, and he only collected 15 saves with a 3.68 ERA in 41 games. He then represented Korea in the 2022 Asian Games (held in '23 due to delays from COVID-19), and he relieved Yeong-hyun Park in the 8th inning against Taiwan. Go was still the same pitcher as in prior international events. He gave up a double to Nien-Ting Wu after retiring An-Ko Lin. Go plunked Hao-Yu Lee, retired Hao-Wei Shen and Tzu-Hao Lin hit a 2-run single to extend Taiwan's lead to 4 runs; he retired Chia-Cheng Lin to end the inning. Go then pitched a shutout inning against China, and he succeeded Park in the 9th inning of the Gold Medal game against Taiwan. Go retired Chen-Yu Yang, then allowed two singles, to Li Lin and An-Ko Lin. Taiwan needed a hit to tie the game, but Go forced Wu to ground into a double play, and South Korea won Gold. This was the first save in his national team career, but his ERA was still 6.09 in 10 career games for the South Korea to that point.

After returning from China, Go appeared in the 2023 Korean Series. He allowed a walk-off double to Sang-chul Moon in Game 1 against the Kt Wiz, then notched a save in Game 2. He struggled again in Game 3 asJae-gyun Hwang hit a game-tying RBI double in the 8th inning, then Byung-ho Park crushed a go-ahead 2-run homer off Go. Ji-hwan Oh's 3-run homer gave Go a chance at redemption, but he blew it. Go plunked Jun-tae Kim, then Jun-won Jang hit a single. Go was replaced by Sang-yung Lee, who saved the game. He pitched a shutout inning in Game 5, and the Twins won their first Korean Series title in 29 years.

On January 3, 2024, reports came out that Go had signed a two-year deal with the San Diego Padres, with an option for a third year, for $4.5 million. He never actually played for the Padres, as he was assigned to the San Antonio Missions of the AA Texas League to start the season. There, he went 0-2, 5.11 in 10 games in relief, with 1 save and 15 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings. On May 4th, he was included in a big trade that sent him to the Miami Marlins along with three other prospects, Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella in return for two-time batting champion Luis Arráez.

Go's repertoire features a fastball that peaks at 98.1 mph, a slider, cutter and a knuckle curve.

Further Reading

• AJ Cassavell: "Padres have 2-year deal with Korean closer Go", mlb.com, January 3, 2024. [1]
• Do-Hyoung Park: "'You're dating my sister? Why?' Newly minted NL West rivals are family first", mlb.com, January 16, 2024. [2]