'Is this right?' Anger erupts at DET media over Ko Woo-seok's transfer! "Why give him to a division rival in the same league?"

*This content was translated by AI.

With the Detroit Tigers' bullpen performing poorly, local public opinion has turned completely against the club's decision to hand over Ko Woo-seok (28), who was dominating in the minor leagues, to Minnesota Twins, a division rival team, without even giving him a chance.

On the 6th (Korean time), American sports outlet 'The Athletic', among others, reported that "the Minnesota Twins acquired right-handed pitcher Ko Woo-seok from the Detroit Tigers via a cash trade."

This trade was reportedly triggered by the activation of the 'Upward Mobility Clause' included in Ko Woo-seok's contract. According to Chris McCosky, a veteran reporter for the Detroit News, if another team offered to register Ko on their Major League roster, the Tigers were required to either keep him on their 40-man roster or trade him away. The Tigers' management chose to trade him rather than include him on the 40th-man roster.

As news spread, not only local Detroit media but also official podcasts and fan forums have uniformly criticized the move. Local reactions go beyond anger, leaning toward disbelief. "It's incomprehensible that even after seeing the current state of the Detroit bullpen, they didn't give this kid (Ko Woo-seok) a single chance," said 'Eat 'Em Up', a prominent podcast dedicated to the Detroit Tigers, strongly condemning the team's stance of leaving him unutilized without calling him up.

In fact, the Detroit bullpen is currently struggling severely and cannot avoid a downward trend. In contrast, Ko Woo-seok has appeared in 27 games across all levels of the Detroit minor league system (Double-A and Triple-A) this season, recording 41⅓ innings with 3 wins, 1 loss, 4 saves, 5 holds, 54 strikeouts, an ERA of 1.96, and a WHIP of 0.82 — overwhelming statistics. Despite the bullpen collapsing, the team ignored a pitcher who demonstrated top-tier minor league performance.

Especially aggravating to fans is that his destination was the Minnesota Twins, a division rival in the American League Central that currently sits higher on the standings. On local podcasts, voices were heard saying, "Does it make sense to trade him to a division rival team that ranks above us?" expressing frustration over the club's careless decision-making. They added, "Players with even worse records than Ko have been given chances. It seems the organization doesn't view Ko as valuable enough to displace someone on the 40th-man roster."

Despite being overlooked by Detroit, Ko Woo-seok has quietly endured and is expected to join Minnesota's Major League 40-man roster in accordance with his contract terms. According to local reports, he will join the Twins squad ahead of their home game against the Cleveland Guardians on the 8th and is poised to make his highly anticipated Big League debut.

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*This content was translated by AI.