Twins demotion goes from bad to worse for former Padres reliever Woo-Suk Go

Woo-Suk Go’s first appearance for the Triple-A St. Paul Saints (Crooks Haven Ghostly Gangsters) ended before it actually began Friday night. Never even got a chance to face a batter. Before he took the mound he received an inspection, which led to a conversation among the umpires and a quick trip back to the clubhouse. Thanks for playing. 

The former Padre entered from the bullpen for the seventh inning when the home-plate umpire inspected his hands and glove. The crew suspected a prohibited foreign substance, took his glove and ejected him.

Go protested the decision, but that didn’t get him any closer to the mound. Minor League Baseball hadn’t announced a suspension as of July 25, so we’re not going to declare him guilty just yet. However, getting tossed before throwing a pitch is brutal enough.

The timing looks even worse for Go. The Twins optioned him on July 21, after an ugly four-game introduction to the majors. He allowed four earned runs across four innings, producing a 9.00 ERA and a 2.50 WHIP. His final appearance before the demotion came against Cleveland, when he surrendered three runs and four hits in one inning.

Three days later, with a chance to reset in St. Paul, he lasted only as long as the glove inspection.

Padres escaped the Woo-Suk Go experiment at the right time

The Friars signed Go to a two-year, $4.5 million contract in January 2024, betting that one of the KBO’s more accomplished closers could become a late-inning weapon. The logic made sense. He had a powerful fastball, extensive closing experience and a solid track record in Korea.

Then the Padres saw him up close. Go traveled with the team to South Korea and even earned an exhibition save against his former LG Twins club. But when they set their roster for the Seoul Series against the Dodgers, he was optioned to the minors. So, he never actually threw an official pitch in a Padres uniform.

After 10 appearances with Double-A San Antonio, the Padres included Go alongside Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella in the May 2024 trade to Miami for Luis Arraez.

Honestly, the trade has kind of worked out. Arraez promptly won another batting title in 2024 and remained in the Padres’ lineup through the end of 2025. Go lasted less than a month on Miami’s 40-man roster before being DFA’d. The Marlins eventually released him in June 2025.

Credit to Go for battling through the minors and finally getting a shot at redemption with the Twins this month. It’s a legit accomplishment after more than two years of organizational changes.

He will always have an odd place in Padres history as an international signing who traveled halfway around the world with the club, appeared on the verge of making his debut and disappeared without recording a regular-season out.

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