Ko Woo-seok, the closer who led the LG Twins’ ‘V3’, entered the major league stage. After passing his medical test, he will be on the mound for the big league in the 2024 season.

On the 4th, Go Woo-seok’s agency Rico Sports attached the San Diego team’s official press release, saying, “Go Woo-seok completed the medical test and signed an official contract with the San Diego Padres.” His two-year contract included a mutual option for the 2026 season, with the contract being extended upon mutual agreement between the player and the club.

On this day, FOX Sports of the United States quoted a report by New York Post reporter Joel Sherman on its official SNS and reported that the San Diego Padres signed a two-year contract with Go Woo-seok for $4.5 million (approximately 5.89 billion won).

The LG Twins team issued an official press release on the morning of the 3rd, saying, “Go Woo-seok recently received an offer from a major league club according to the posting process. The club decided to respect the player’s wishes and send him to the major league team that sent the offer.” “Accordingly, Go Woo-seok left for the United States today (3rd) to proceed with the contract, including a medical test,” the announcement said.

Go Woo-seok graduated from Chungam High School in 2017 and joined LG as a first-round pick. LG bet the team’s future on Go Woo-seok, who has been hitting fastballs in the low 150 km/h range since his high school days, and gave him a signing bonus of 300 million won.

Go Woo-seok made LG not regret its choice. He served as the team’s closing pitcher in the 2019 season, his third year as a professional, and recorded 65 games, 71 innings, 8 wins, 2 losses, 35 saves, and an ERA of 1.52, becoming a top-class closer in the league.

Although he faltered in 2020 due to surgery and rehabilitation, he emerged as a top-class closing pitcher in the league with 63 games, 58 innings, 1 win, 5 losses, 30 saves, and an ERA of 2.17 in 2021, and 61 games, 60⅔ innings, 4 wins, 2 losses, 42 saves, and an ERA of 1.48 in 2022. .

The 2023 season was somewhat disappointing, with 44 games, 44 innings, 3 wins, 8 losses, 15 saves, and an ERA of 3.68 as he suffered from minor injuries. Even in the Korean Series, he struggled with 4 games, 4⅓ innings, 1 win, 1 loss, 1 save, and an ERA of 8.31.

However, in Game 5, where LG won the Korean Series for the first time in 29 years, he went on the mound in the top of the 9th inning with a 6-2 lead, blocked the KT Wiz batting lineup with a three-way strike, and enjoyed the honor of being the best pitcher.

LG was selected as a strong candidate to win next season as well. With a batting lineup boasting tremendous firepower and a strong bullpen led by Go Woo-seok, the team was evaluated as capable of challenging for the top spot for two consecutive years.

However, as soon as the Stove League started, a completely unexpected variable arose. On November 15 last year, LG fell into chaos when the Major League Baseball Secretariat requested identity verification for outfielders Lee Jeong-hoo and Ko Woo-seok of the Kiwoom Heroes.

When players playing in the KBO league advance to the U.S. Major League or Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB), they can only officially contact overseas clubs after requesting a status check in accordance with an agreement concluded between the secretariat of the three countries. This applies to cases where posting is carried out with the consent of the club or exercise of free agent (FA) rights.

In the case of Lee Jeong-hoo, he announced his intention to challenge for the big league early on and received permission from his team, Kiwoom. Scott Boras, a super agent who only takes on top major league players as clients, served as Jeong-hoo Lee’s posting negotiation agent and has already been consistently connected to teams in need of outfielders in the American media. 지울프-토토

Go Woo-seok is one of the best closing pitchers in the KBO League, but due to his poor performance this season, it was not expected that he would advance overseas. In his regular interviews, Go Woo-seok rarely emphasized his desire to play in the major leagues.

LG initially respected Go Woo-seok’s wishes and allowed the posting, but took the stance that they could not allow the contract if the amount was unreasonable. He made it clear that he could not hand over the team’s key players at a low price.

At the second draft site in November of last year, General Manager Cha Myeong-seok said, “We decided that Go Woo-seok would post first and then talk again if he was offered a satisfactory amount.” He added, “Would Ko Woo-seok himself want to go to the United States if the amount was an absurd amount? To what extent? “We decided to discuss it once we received the proposal,” he emphasized.

In addition, he explained, “We also have to receive money (posting amount) if we send Go Woo-seok, so we have to check the amount,” and “The team owner makes the final decision. I only help where I can.”

Go Woo-seok’s posting to 30 major league teams officially began on November 28 last year, but there was no news of a negotiated settlement. There was not much attention in the local American media either.

The twist happened on the 3rd, the last day of posting. MLB Trade Rumors, an American media outlet that covers the major league transfer market, said, “John Heyman of the New York Post reported that a contract agreement between Korean pitcher Ko Woo-seok and the San Diego Padres is approaching,” and “Heyman said Ko Woo-seok will serve as San Diego’s closer for the 2024 season. “He suggested that we could do this,” he said.

He also explained, “Go Woo-seok has been active as LG’s closer for the past few years and has pitched as a pure bullpen pitcher since his debut,” and “(Major League) official scouting reports generally selected Go Woo-seok as a strong middle reliever at the big league level.”

However, it is known that the contract amount that LG heard from Go Woo-seok far exceeded expectations. It did not reach the Maginot line set by the club and player at the time of posting application. If Go Woo-seok’s $4.5 million contract is officially announced, it will not be the amount LG expected.

Go Woo-seok was able to cross the Pacific Ocean thanks to the decision of Koo Kwang-mo, chairman of LG Group and owner of the LG Twins. Chairman Koo Kwang-mo gave strength to the player after receiving a report on the situation related to Go Woo-seok’s posting from general manager Cha Myeong-seok.

Immediately after it was finally confirmed that Go Woo-seok would advance to the major league, General Manager Cha Myeong-seok said, “At first, I said no, but Go Woo-seok asked to be sent and the club owner gave permission. It was less than the amount we had promised. I thought this might not be the case, but (the player) “I asked him to let me go, and the club owner made a big decision,” he said. “I reported it as is (to Chairman Koo Gwang-mo). I relayed the entire situation, and the club owner said, ‘The player wants to go that way,’ and asked for permission, so the final decision was made. “I ended up doing it,” he said about the process.