Ko Woo-suk, 28, a right-handed pitcher and former LG Twins player, has moved to the Minnesota Twins and is on the verge of his big league debut.
MLB Trade Rumors (MTR), a media outlet specializing in player transfer news, reported Saturday that "Minnesota acquired Ko Woo-suk from the Detroit Tigers in a cash trade." Regarding the move, Dan Hayes, a reporter for The Athletic, explained, "Ko Woo-suk was not on Detroit's 40-man roster, but under the contract terms, Minnesota must add him to its Major League (MLB) roster."
He is set to reach the MLB stage two years and eight months after declaring his big league challenge through the posting system in November 2023.
Ko, who was the top closer in the KBO League during his time with the LG Twins, entered the U.S. stage in 2024 after signing a two-year guaranteed contract worth 4.5 million dollars with the San Diego Padres. However, ahead of the 2024 season opener, he was sent down to the minor leagues, and has since bounced around the minors with the Miami Marlins and Detroit.
Ko signed a minor league contract with Detroit in December last year and spent most of this season in Triple-A without even receiving a spring camp invitation. In Triple-A, he clearly demonstrated his presence with a 3-1 record, three holds and two saves over 27⅔ innings in 19 games, with a 2.60 earned run average. He struck out 32 batters while allowing not a single home run.
MTR assessed that "Ko Woo-suk's batting average on balls in play (BABIP) of 0.239 suggests he had some luck, but overall he can be seen as having earned his MLB promotion on his own."
Minnesota, ranked third in the American League Central Division (44 wins, 47 losses), will play a three-game home series against the Cleveland Guardians starting Monday. The Minnesota Star Tribune, a local Minnesota newspaper, reported that "Ko Woo-suk is scheduled to be added to the 26-man roster ahead of the Monday game against Cleveland."
With Minnesota's bullpen struggling, Ko has a strong chance of breaking through the team's internal competition. If Ko takes the mound, he will become the 30th Korean big leaguer in history. A pitcher-batter showdown between brothers-in-law can also be anticipated. Ko's brother-in-law Lee Jung-hoo is playing as a star hitter for the San Francisco Giants, and San Francisco is scheduled to face Minnesota from September 21 to 23.
