LOS ANGELES (AFP) -- South Korean closing relief pitcher Go Woo-suk signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, Jan. 3, the Major League Baseball club announced.

The 25-year-old right-hander has a mutual option for the 2026 campaign, according to Padres general manager A.J. Preller, in a deal worth a reported $4.5 million.

In 44 relief appearances last year for the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) champion LG Twins, Go had 59 strikeouts with 15 saves and a 3.68 earned-run average, surrendering only two home runs and 22 walks.

Go went 1-1 with a save in last year's KBO playoffs.

In seven seasons with the LG Twins, Go went 19–26 with 139 saves in 354 career appearances for a 3.18 ERA and 401 strikeouts against 163 walks.

He led the KBO in 2022 with 42 saves and finished in the top five in saves in each of the past five seasons.

Go will bolster a Padres bullpen that added Japanese left-hander Yuki Matsui last month. The two could compete for the Padres closing relief pitcher role.

Go is also the brother-in-law of South Korean centerfielder Lee Jung-hoo, the 2022 KBO Most Valuable Player who signed a six-year MLB deal worth $113 million last month with the San Francisco Giants, the Padres' National League West division rivals.

Lee and Go were teammates on the South Korean squad in the Tokyo Olympics.