Go Woo-suk headed back to minors for Minnesota Twins after clearing waivers
Minnesota Twins pitcher Go Woo-Suk looks to the field before a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs in Chicago, July 19. AP-Yonhap
Korean pitcher Go Woo-suk is on his way back to the minor leagues after clearing waivers.
The Minnesota Twins made the move Sunday (U.S. local time), two days after designating the right-hander for assignment following four games with their Triple-A affiliate, the St. Paul Saints.
Once a player is designated for assignment, he can be traded or placed on irrevocable waivers within seven days. And if the player clears waivers — that is, if no team picks that player from waivers — then he may be sent outright to the minors or released, becoming a free agent. Since the annual trade deadline had already passed, Go had to wait and see if any team would claim him off waivers.
When no team showed interest in Go, the Twins chose to send the pitcher back to the Saints instead of releasing him.
Go made his long-awaited Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Twins on July 9, more than two years after first moving to the United States by signing with the San Diego Padres.
But Go lasted just four games and four innings with the big league club, giving up four earned runs on eight hits, including two home runs. He was optioned to Triple-A after surrendering three runs on four hits in one inning of work on July 20.
On July 24, Go was ejected from what would have been his first game with the Saints for having an illegal substance in his glove. He was initially suspended for 10 games but had it reduced to eight games following an appeal.
In eight outings for the Saints, Go went 2-1 but allowed 13 earned runs on nine hits in 9 1/3 innings, for an ugly 12.54 ERA. He also issued 11 walks, hit a batter and threw three wild pitches.
Go had a successful run as a top-notch closer in the Korea Baseball Organization before signing with the Padres in January 2024. He never reached MLB with the Padres, who pinned him down in the minors and traded him to the Miami Marlins in May 2024.
The Marlins' Triple-A team, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, released Go in June 2025, and then the Detroit Tigers signed him to a minor league deal later that month.
Go pitched the rest of his 2025 season in the Tigers' minor leagues and spent the early part of this season with their Triple-A team, the Toledo Mud Hens, before a trade to the Twins in exchange for cash.
And more time in the minors awaits Go following the latest transaction.