Padres' $4.5 Million Free Agent Signee, Part of Blockbuster Trade, Suddenly Released

The Padres spent $4.5 million to sign Woo-Suk Go out of the Korean Baseball Organization in January 2024. The right-handed pitcher wasn't in the organization for long.

After 16 professional games — six in spring training, 10 more at Double-A San Antonio — Go was traded to the Miami Marlins in the deal that sent Luis Arraez to San Diego on May 4, 2024.

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Monday, after a little more than a year in the Marlins organization, Go was released.

Marlins have released pitcher Woo-Suk Go. Acquired in the deal with the Padres for Luis Arraez. Go was in the deal as a minor piece to offset some of the Arraez contract money sent to San Diego last season.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) June 17, 2025

Go pitched in South Korea for seven solid seasons. He was the closer for the Korean National Team at the World Baseball Classic in 2023, and posted an ERA of 3.18 with 139 saves and 401 strikeouts over 368.1 innings of work in the KBO.

But the right-hander struggled in his first major league spring training after signing with the Padres. In six Cactus League games, Go surrendered nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits across five innings. He finished the spring with an ERA of 12.60 and a record of 0-2 with a blown save.

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When the Padres acquired Arraez from the Marlins in a rare May blockbuster, they were able to offload Go's salary on Miami. Three other players (Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee and Nathan Martorella) went to the Marlins in the deal along with Go.

Go's surface stats with the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate in the weeks after the trade were good — nine innings with a 3.00 ERA — but he fanned only 8.3 percent of his opponents against a 5.6 percent walk rate.

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Perhaps surprisingly, Miami designated Go for assignment on May 30, 2024.

Go, the brother-in-law of San Francisco Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee, wound up splitting the 2024 season between the Marlins' Double-A and Triple-A affiliates.

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With Double-A Pensacola, Go was 2-1 with a 10.42 ERA in 18 games (19 innings). Opponents hit .344 against him — a poor showing against major league hitters, to say nothing of their Double-A counterparts.

Ironically, the $2.25 million the Marlins owe Go in 2025 is more than any of the relievers on their major league roster are making.

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Now, Go will look to latch on with another organization, if not in North America then perhaps in a return to his native South Korea.

Go, 26, had recently been promoted back to Triple-A by the Marlins. In five games since his promotion, he threw 5.2 innings and allowed six hits and one walk while striking out five and allowing only one earned run (1.59 ERA).

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