Can Go Woo Suk of the San Diego Padres join the opening roster before his first year in the Major Leagues? His fateful time may be approaching.
The San Diego Padres will play a two-game opening series at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on the 20th and 21st.
Also known as the Seoul Series, the game is held more than a week before the U.S. Opening Series. It is a part of the Major League World Tour, a decision made considering factors such as jet lag for the players of both teams.
Accordingly, the Padres and the Dodgers will finalize their opening roster earlier than other teams. They have assembled a 31-man roster instead of a 26-man roster, considering they will play two more “special matches” as they come to Korea.
Go Woo Suk was also included in the 31-man roster and was able to come to Korea. Go Woo Suk said, “Since I’ve come to Seoul, I passed one hurdle,” but also added, “There’s one more step left. I want to be included in the 26-man roster.”
San Diego has decided on 17 pitchers out of the 31. Considering that half of the usual 26-man roster are pitchers, at least four pitchers will be left out. The tension for Go Woo Suk is high.
Furthermore, Go Woo Suk did not show a good performance in the exhibition games. He recorded 5 runs in ⅓ inning against the Los Angeles Angels on the 11th, showing an inconsistent performance, and recorded an average ERA of 12.46 in 4⅓ innings over 5 games.
The anxiety continued in the Seoul series. Manager Mike Shildt put Go Woo Suk on the mound in the 9th inning in a special match against the LG Twins on the 18th. It was an opportunity to be a “closer,” a position he held until last year, against his former team.
However, Go Woo Suk gave up a hit to Park Hae Min and then a two-run home run to Lee Jae Won. He managed to save without any more runs, but the aftertaste was bitter.
After the game, Manager Mike Shildt said, “I will finalize the opening series roster after evaluating today’s game.”
The Major League’s “star players” often struggle in exhibition games. However, the story goes differently for Go Woo Suk, who has not yet debuted in the Major Leagues.
Dodgers’ “rookie” Yoshinobu Yamamoto also shows inconsistent performance like Go Woo Suk, but Yamamoto is in a different position as he already signed the highest contract as a Major League pitcher.
Realistically, it seems difficult to join the roster at this time. However, there are hopeful aspects for Go Woo Suk, such as the fact that out of the current 17 pitchers on San Diego’s roster, 8 are starters, and his pitch itself was not bad, regardless of the result.