Twins Take a Chance on Former KBO Closer Woo-Suk Go

[Cody Christie]

The Twins made a low-risk addition to their bullpen depth on Sunday, acquiring right-handed reliever Woo-Suk Go from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for cash considerations. While the move won't generate significant excitement, it gives Minnesota another intriguing arm to evaluate as the club continues to fight for an American League Wild Card spot.

Because Go had an assignment clause in his contract, the Twins must add him to the 40-man roster. Fortunately, Minnesota already had an open 40-man roster spot, so no corresponding move was necessary.

Go signed a minor league contract with Detroit last December after spending the 2024 season in the Miami Marlins organization. The Tigers never promoted him to the major league roster, despite an impressive first half with Triple-A Toledo.

Across 27 2/3 innings this season, Go posted a 2.60 ERA while striking out 29.1% of opposing hitters. He also has yet to surrender a home run. Some of those numbers have been helped by a favorable .239 batting average on balls in play, but the underlying traits remain appealing. His ability to miss bats and keep the ball on the ground gives the Twins another bullpen option with upside. That profile is especially valuable considering Minnesota's struggles to find consistency in relief.

Outside of Yoendrys Gómez and Andrew Morris, few Twins relievers have provided dependable production throughout the first half. Morris owns an above-average 17.1 K-BB% rate and a 3.04 xERA over 40 innings. Gómez has taken on the closer role and has posted a 234 ERA+ with a 15.6 K-BB%. 

As a unit, Minnesota's bullpen has posted a 5.28 ERA with a 19.9% strikeout rate, an 11.5% walk rate, and a 39.7% ground-ball rate. All four marks rank among the bottom ten bullpens in Major League Baseball. Only five teams have a lower fWAR total, and their -1.2 WPA ranks 23rd overall. 

Adding Go doesn't solve those issues overnight, but it represents another attempt by the front office to uncover value without sacrificing future assets. The 26-year-old arrives with an impressive résumé from Korea. Before coming to Major League Baseball, Go was one of the KBO League's top closers, relying on a lively fastball and swing-and-miss slider to pile up saves. His transition to affiliated baseball has been uneven, particularly with his command, but his strikeout ability has continued to show up whenever he's been healthy.

Minnesota is betting that those traits can translate against major league hitters. The timing also makes sense. The Twins improved to 44-47 with Sunday's victory over the Yankees and remain only two games behind an American League Wild Card spot. With the trade deadline still several weeks away, the front office isn't locked into either buying or selling. Moves like this allow the organization to add potential contributors while maintaining payroll flexibility and preserving its prospect depth.

According to reports, Go is expected to join the Twins on Tuesday and should have an opportunity to make his major league debut shortly thereafter. How long he remains in Minnesota may ultimately depend on both his performance and the club's direction over the next few weeks.

If the Twins stay in the postseason race, Go will have to earn every appearance in a competitive bullpen. If Minnesota slips further behind before the trade deadline, he could receive a longer opportunity to prove he belongs as the organization evaluates arms for both the remainder of 2026 and beyond.

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[Danchat]

Not only did they have a 40 man roster spot open, but they could also easily shift Abel, Sands, or Banda to the 60 day IL to get more spots. Might as well take a shot on a guy who isn't old and put up pretty good numbers at AAA.

[Cody Christie]

17 minutes ago, Danchat said:

Not only did they have a 40 man roster spot open, but they could also easily shift Abel, Sands, or Banda to the 60 day IL to get more spots. Might as well take a shot on a guy who isn't old and put up pretty good numbers at AAA.

Agreed. After the Banda injury, they needed some kind of addition.

[AceWrigley]

If he can throw strikes and get some people out when needed it will be an improvement.

[Linus]

1 hour ago, Cody Christie said:

Agreed. After the Banda injury, they needed some kind of addition.

After the Banda injury?  They’ve needed multiple additions since the last trade deadline. 

[East Coast Twin]

Woo-Suk Go is a version of speed dating in South Korea.

[Vanimal46]

This is the type of dart throw the Twins need to make time and time again until they’re loaded with 8 legitimate options. 

[Dman]

Yeah I like this signing more than most.  He's not a hard thrower so the junk is going to have to work, but that's a mighty fine ERA at AAA.  I can see why the Tigers took the money rather than adding him though.  Without a strong fastball it's really hard to make it.  He also doesn't have great control from what I understand. We'll see how it works out soon enough. Hoping its another great find, but the odds seem long as usual.

[Permanent Twins Fan]

Is he going to be added to the 26-man? If so, he would be making his major league debut. 

[Sampson5]

Good dart throw if he's solid you get a pen arm for nothing if he's not you just dfa him in a week or 2 and move on . Really no downside with how bad the bullpen currently is hard to see him being much worse then guys like funderburk, Adams or lawerson . Had to add someone and hopefully find 1 more trustworthy arm . Be awesome if him & raya could turn into trustworthy arms so it no longer feels like we're screwed if anyone besides banda,gomez or Morris is the guy coming into the game especially with a close game . Probably about time to start moving off the bad relievers starting with rogers all due respect to the guy but he's cooked no clue why he's up while rojas sits in St Paul for no reason since they aren't building him up as a starter still in the few innings every 4 days role 

[twinstalker]

9 hours ago, Vanimal46 said:

This is the type of dart throw the Twins need to make time and time again until they’re loaded with 8 legitimate options. 

We're over halfway through, and the Twins have done okay with exactly one of these (Gomez).  I'm not optimistic on getting to 7 (plus Morris).

[big dog]

Let's make Adams' spot available.

[Russ]

Revolving door, dumpster, scrap heap.  Another name and face looking for any kind of success.  The higher farm teams don't have the players as it appears.

 

Worth a try in a list of many tries.

[mrtwinsfan]

1 hour ago, Russ said:

Revolving door, dumpster, scrap heap.  Another name and face looking for any kind of success.  The higher farm teams don't have the players as it appears.

 

Worth a try in a list of many tries.

[DannySD]

Welcome, Go. (feels weird saying that) 

[clone52]

Saying he will need to earn every appearance in a competitive bullpen makes sense, but I'd probably rank him #3 in terms of my own personal confidence.

Saying the Twins have a competitive bullpen did make me chuckle.

[DocBauer]

Not to nitpick, but according to Baseball Reference he's actually 27yo and turns 28 August 6th. Still, that's different than being a 35-39yo desperately clinging to his career.

Interesting to me that he's really struggled initially since he came over, but seems to have put it together in 2026, begining with a reallly good Baseball Classic performance this spring. This kind of reminds me of when the Tigers had Thielbat at AAA doing really well but they decided not to protect him and the Twins grabbed him and brought him back for quite a few good years. 

With a slider, curveball and splitter to go along with his 4 seamer, he's got a good mix of pitches. But I read one place where he sits at 93mph, and I've also read he sits mid 90's. While that doesn't sound major, a couple MPH can make a difference.

Seemingly good K numbers and a tendency for ground balls...with the Twins revamped INF...he's very intriguing. Right time and place? I'm anxious to see what he looks like.

[Danchat]

13 hours ago, Permanent Twins Fan said:

Is he going to be added to the 26-man? If so, he would be making his major league debut. 

Yes, he has been added and Laweryson was optioned.

[IndyTwinsFan]

5 hours ago, Danchat said:

Yes, he has been added and Laweryson was optioned.

And, if i heard correctly, we still have an open spot on the 26 man.  I wonder if we'll do anything meaningful with it, or just sit there and stare at it blankly.

[ashbury]

1 hour ago, IndyTwinsFan said:

And, if i heard correctly, we still have an open spot on the 26 man.  I wonder if we'll do anything meaningful with it, or just sit there and stare at it blankly.

I count 13 pitchers and 13 batters at the mlb.com site.  

Besides that, I believe the players union would file a grievance if a team rostered fewer than the requisite 26.

[IndyTwinsFan]

3 minutes ago, ashbury said:

I count 13 pitchers and 13 batters at the mlb.com site.  

Besides that, I believe the players union would file a grievance if a team rostered fewer than the requisite 26.

Good point!