Tigers sign former KBO closer who Padres gave way too much money

The Tigers' pitching staff has been battered and bruised in recent weeks, leading to dizzying roster moves as they shuffle pitchers up and down from Triple-A to the majors just to get fresh arms in the bullpen. Dylan Smith, Carlos Hernández, Keider Montero, and Tyler Owens all have been moved one way or the other in the last 10 days alone.

Detroit has doled out a few sneaky minor league deals to pitchers who could but probably won't factor into major league plans, but their newest signing is perhaps the most recognizable of the bunch.

The Padres brought righty Woo-Suk Go over from the KBO in the first few days of 2024, giving him $4.5 million over two years. He was the KBO's saves leader in 2022 and had a 3.18 career ERA before coming over to MLB, so $4.5 million could've been a bargain for San Diego.

But Go never cracked the majors with the Padres, and still hasn't, even after being dealt to the Marlins as part of the Luis Arraez trade last year. He's spent most of 2025 injured, but the Marlins let him go on June 17, after he completed a rehab assignment during which he posted a 7.20 ERA in Single-A.

Per the Tigers' transactions log, they signed him to a minor league deal on Monday.

Tigers sign former KBO closer, Padres reliever Woo-Suk Go to minor league deal

The closest Go has gotten to a major league appearance was when the Padres opened their season in Korea against the Dodgers last year. Go joined the oversized travel roster and pitched in an exhibition game against his former KBO team, but didn't appear in the actual series against LA. When the Padres got back to the States, they optioned him to Double-A to start the season.

He posted a 4.38 ERA over 12 1/3 innings in Double-A San Antonio before being traded to the Marlins, where he put up even worse numbers in Pensacola (10.42 ERA). Still, Miami promoted him in early July, and he fared a little better in Triple-A.

His Triple-A numbers this season are fairly good, but it's a minuscule sample size — 1.59 across 5 2/3 frames. All told, he has a career 5.99 ERA in 67 2/3 minor league innings.

At least the Tigers aren't on the hook for the millions that the Padres promised him. If he finally gets his major league debut in Detroit, hopefully it won't be until the Tigers figure out how to fix him or until they're really that desperate for bullpen reinforcements.