Report: Padres close to deal with KBO reliever Woo Suk Go
The Padres are reportedly close to signing Korean relief pitcher Woo Suk Go.
Per NY Post’s Jon Heyman on X, the Padres are close to signing Woo Suk Go of the KBO.
Korean righthander Woo Suk Go close to signing with Padres. Likely to be their closer.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 3, 2024
The financial details of the possible deal are not yet known.
Just over a week after the Padres announced the signing of Japanese lefty reliever Yuki Matsui, they seem to be continuing their pursuit of top pitching talent out of Asia.
As Heyman stated, Go likely will get a chance to earn the role as the Padres’ closer. San Diego needs a new closer after the departure of five-time All-Star Josh Hader. Those are certainly big shoes to fill.
Go throws from the right side with his fastball sitting in the mid-90s. He posted a pedestrian 3.68 ERA for the LG Twins last season. However, since 2019, he owns a 2.39 ERA with 139 saves.
Along with his fastball, he offers a cutter, slider, and curveball to mix it up, which is larger repertoire than the average MLB reliever.
Despite the uptick in ERA due to injuries in 2023, Go seems to induce a great amount of groundballs. He owned a 65.8% ground ball rate last season. That would’ve ranked among the highest in MLB last year.
This move would bolster the Padres bullpen decimated by free agent departures. They must replace over 260 innings between Nick Martinez, Josh Hader, Luis Garcia, and Tim Hill.
With Mastui and possibly now Go, those are steps in the right direction.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.