SEOUL, The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced Tuesday it has asked Major League Baseball (MLB) to post All-Star closer Go Woo-suk and make the 25-year-old pitcher available for 30 big league clubs.
MLB tendered a status check on Go, a closer for the LG Twins, earlier this month, taking a formal step before big club clubs can sign a player from South Korea.
Once MLB notifies its clubs of Go's availability, a 30-day negotiating window will open at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (ET) the following morning. It will close at 5 p.m. ET on the 30th day.
If Go can't land a deal this time, he may not be posted again until Nov. 1, 2024.
In this file photo from Nov. 10, 2023, LG Twins closer Go Woo-suk pitches against the KT Wiz during Game 3 of the Korean Series at KT Wiz Park in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
Go is the second KBO star to be posted this offseason, joining Kiwoom Heroes outfielder Lee Jung-hoo, the 2022 KBO regular season MVP. Go and Lee are close friends, and Go is married to Lee's younger sister.
The Twins agreed to let Go test the market last week, though they did so under the condition that the money has to be right, and they won't let the pitcher walk on a cheap deal.
KBO teams receive a "release fee" for losing a player to MLB via posting, depending on the guaranteed portion of the player's contract.
If the guaranteed value of the deal -- not counting a signing bonus or incentives -- is US$25 million or less, the release fee will be 20 percent of the contract. If the contract is worth between $25,000,001 and $50 million, the fee will be 20 percent of the first $25 million, plus 17.5 percent of any amount exceeding that $25 million.
If a player signs for more than $50 million, his former KBO team will receive 20 percent of the first $25 million ($5 million) and 17.5 percent of the next $25 million ($4,375,000), plus 15 percent of the amount exceeding $50 million.
Go has been one of the KBO's top closers since taking on that role in 2019, two years after his debut. He has recorded 139 saves from 2019 to 2023, more than any other closer in that span. He has struck out 334 batters and walked 115 in 275 1/3 innings across those five seasons. His 2.39 ERA is also the lowest among all closers in the 2019-2023 period.
In this file photo from Nov. 13, 2023, LG Twins closer Go Woo-suk pitches against the KT Wiz during Game 5 of the Korean Series at Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul.
Go helped the Twins win their first Korean Series title in 29 years earlier this month, recording the final three outs of the 6-2 win in the clinching Game 5 on Nov. 13.
Go became eligible for posting this winter after completing his equivalent of seven full seasons in the KBO. A full season equals 145 days spent on the active roster.
Go missed some time this season with injuries and had 15 saves -- his fewest since becoming the closer -- in 44 appearances covering 44 innings. However, up to 30 days spent on the injured list still counted toward Go's time on the active roster. Go also earned an additional 16 days of service time by playing for South Korea at the Asian Games this fall, and he ended up with 176 days on the active roster this year.
Go only logged 100 days on the active roster as a rookie in 2017, the only season in which he failed to reach 145 days. However, Go received a total of 105 additional days for playing for South Korea at various international tournaments, including the Olympics in 2021 and the World Baseball Classic and the Asian Games this year. Go is allowed to take however many days necessary from his international play and add them to his KBO service time to meet 145.
The right-hander is also one of the hardest-throwing relievers in the KBO. In 2023, according to the KBO statistics site Statiz, Go averaged 152.5 kph with his fastball -- tops among all relievers with at least 40 innings pitched.
Source: Yonhap News Agency