Will he hit a buzzer-beater like Ryu Hyun-jin?

LG Twins’ Ko Woo-seok is on his way to the major leagues. Time is running out. His co-author, Lee Jung-hoo, signed a mega-deal worth over $100 million to play for the San Francisco Giants. But we haven’t heard anything about him yet. The deadline for this post is 7 a.m. KST on April 4. That’s less than two days away.

Woo-Seok Ko’s application for the post was unexpected. He was eligible, but injuries have hampered his performance this season. After winning the save title in 2022 with 42 saves, he only managed 15 saves in 2023, and his ERA increased from 1.48 (2022) to 3.68 (2023).

Unlike Lee Jung-hoo, who requested and received early permission from the club a year in advance, Go Woo-seok did not formally ask the club in advance.

He was cautious about announcing his intention to go to the U.S. because he wanted to win the LG championship first. When he signed his contract, he told the team that he wanted to post if he won. Even after the championship, Go remained coy about his future in the major leagues.

It was expected that he would push for the major leagues after becoming a free agent after the 2024 season.

However, things started to change on Nov. 14 last year, when Major League Baseball received a background check on Go Woo-seok along with Lee Jung-hoo. Upon receiving the background check, Go made an official request to LG to post him. After much deliberation, LG said, “We can’t give it away cheaply,” and made a conditional offer.

At the time of his request, it appeared that he was not looking to make an immediate move, but rather a preliminary step toward free agency a year later. This led to speculation that his goal was to get his name in front of major league teams.

However, the major league market is starting to take notice. Local media reported that the St. Louis Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, and New York Yankees were interested. 온라인카지노 The local pitching shortage was said to be a good reason for him to go.

When his brother-in-law Lee Jung-hoo signed a six-year, $113 million contract with San Francisco, there was hope for Go Woo-seok.

Lee’s signing of a big contract meant that the KBO League’s evaluation of him had increased, which in turn gave him hope.

However, since then, there have been fewer mentions of Go Woo-seok.

Even local media rarely mentioned him. It seems that the major leagues are prioritizing the signing of big players first. Even Ryu Hyun-jin hasn’t been signed yet. Little by little, there are reports that it’s not easy for him to make it to the major leagues because of the deadline.

Go Woo-seok himself didn’t seem too excited about this post. When he attended the ‘2023 LOVE Giving Festival with Championship’ event at the Peace Hall on Kyung Hee University’s Seoul campus on the 2nd, he said, “Applying for a post doesn’t change much. There is no guarantee that it will work out. Even if you come back, you can still stay with the LG Twins,” he said. “You can go through the post, or if it doesn’t work out, you can try again as a free agent next year. I think it’s best to just go with the flow,” he once said.

There’s still time, though. There could be a last-minute deal, like the one Ryu made with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2012, Ryu signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers under a posting system that, unlike today’s system, allows teams to place their bids first and then negotiate with the highest bidder for a month. He signed with the Dodgers just before the deadline, earning a total of $36 million over six years.

Kim’s signing with the San Diego Padres was also announced just before the deadline. The deadline for this post was January 2, but the official announcement was made on January 1. News of the signing broke locally on December 29, and the contract was signed a day before the deadline after medical tests.

Will Go Woo-seok join the major leagues as a last-minute “butterbeater” signing like Ryu Hyun-jin and Kim Ha-seong, or will he try to win back-to-back titles as LG’s closer this year?