The Minnesota Twins designated right-hander Woo-Suk Go for assignment on Friday, opening a 40-man roster spot so they could select the contract of outfield prospect Walker Jenkins from Triple-A St. Paul.
Minnesota also optioned outfielder Alan Roden to the Saints as Jenkins prepares to make his major league debut in a home series against the Chicago White Sox.
The move ends a short and uneven Twins chapter for Go, who arrived from Detroit on July 5 in a cash deal. Because his contract included an assignment clause, Minnesota had to add him to the 40-man roster immediately. Two days later he was in the big-league bullpen.
He debuted on July 9 and appeared four times, allowing four earned runs on eight hits — including two home runs — in four innings. He struck out five and walked two for a 9.00 ERA before the club optioned him to St. Paul after a one-inning, three-run outing against Cleveland on July 21.
Go, 28, had been one of the KBO’s premier closers with the LG Twins, leading the league in saves in 2022 before signing a two-year, $4.5 million deal with the San Diego Padres in 2024.
He never established himself in the majors with San Diego or Miami, was later designated for assignment, and spent 2025 and early 2026 in Detroit’s system.
With Toledo and Double-A Erie this year, he posted a 1.96 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 41⅓ innings, the performance that convinced Minnesota to take a flier.
The Triple-A return did not go smoothly. Go was ejected before his first Saints appearance on July 24 after umpires found a foreign substance in his glove.
He received a 10-game suspension that was later reduced to eight games; he said the material was a hardened mix of sweat and rosin from a glove he had used since the World Baseball Classic.
In a little more than nine innings at St. Paul he posted a 12.54 ERA, according to team reporting, leaving him the most expendable name when Minnesota needed a 40-man slot for Jenkins.
Designation for assignment gives the Twins seven days to trade Go, release him, or attempt to outright him to the minors. Because he has been outrighted before, he can refuse another assignment and become a free agent.
For a pitcher who once closed games in Korea and finally reached the majors this summer, the next stop is now up to another organization — or to the open market.
Minnesota, meanwhile, turns its attention to Jenkins and a bullpen it has spent all season trying to stabilize.
