Go Woo-seok returns to former club LG on 500 million won deal: “I’ll pitch to help win the remaining games”

Go Woo-seok is back with the team where he built his career, but his return to LG Twins comes with a firm limit: even if LG reaches the postseason, he will not be able to join its playoff run. The right-hander completed a one-year contract worth 500 million won, though his midseason return means he will actually receive 150 million won for the final three months of the season.

Go thanked fans who continued to support him in Korea and the United States. “Thank you to the fans who have sent passionate support without change, whether I was in Korea or in the United States. Although there is not much of the season left, I will do my best to pitch for the team’s victories in the remaining games,” he said.

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Thank you to the fans who have sent passionate support without change, whether I was in Korea or in the United States. Although there is not much of the season left, I will do my best to pitch for the team’s victories in the remaining games.

LG will not immediately restore him to the closer’s role. Manager Yeom Kyeong-yeop said Sohn Joo-young would remain the closer, while Go would work as a middle reliever. Go pitched two innings at a time in the United States, Yeom said, adding that using him in a similar way could make him more effective.

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The closer’s role will continue to belong to Sohn Joo-young. Go Woo-seok will take on a middle-relief role.

Go joined LG as the first overall selection in the 2017 rookie draft and spent seven seasons with the club through 2023. He appeared in 354 games, recording 19 wins, 26 losses, 139 saves and a 3.18 earned-run average. He became LG’s closer in 2019 and led the regular-season saves standings with 42 in 2022. In 2023, he helped LG win its first combined regular-season and Korean Series title in 29 years, and he finished on the mound in Game 5, where the championship was secured.

After that season, Go signed with the San Diego Padres through the posting system on a two-year contract with an option for a third year, worth up to $9.4 million. He did not make the major-league roster for the 2024 Seoul opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers and later moved between the Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers organizations. He finally made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins in July, but appeared in four games, pitched four innings and posted a 9.00 ERA with one hold before returning to the minors. After an eight-game suspension for violating the ban on foreign-substance use in a Triple-A game and subsequent release by Minnesota, Go chose free agency and decided to return to LG. He is scheduled to join the team on the 3rd.

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Go Woo-seok contributed to the team’s combined championship, ending a 29-year wait, as its closer in the 2023 season, and he returned after gaining valuable experience on the American stage.