Despite a brutal stretch in Minnesota, the 25-year-old right-hander offers untapped upside for a Chicago front office known for revitalizing struggling arms and stabilizing injury-riddled rotations.
The Chicago Cubs continue to take chances on pitchers.
For a team that has dealt with a ton of pitcher injuries through the first two months, the Cubs have been very active in the pitcher market during the season. That has led them to acquire many pitchers over the past five weeks.
The North Siders have claimed Doug Nikhazy and Luis Peralta off waivers, traded for Tyler Ferguson, and have signed two veteran pitchers in Aaron Bummer and Liam Hendriks in free agency.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see one more pitcher added to that list, as the Minnesota Twins recently designated Simeon Woods Richardson for assignment.
Woods Richardson was designated for assignment by the Twins on Saturday amid a struggling start to the season. The 6-foot-3 right-hander had a 0-7 record with a 7.74 ERA, a 1.888 WHIP, and 26 strikeouts across 47 ⅔ innings pitched before this move.
The final straw for Minnesota appeared to have come in Woods Richardson’s last start when he allowed five runs on five hits with three walks across 2 ⅔ innings against the White Sox earlier this week. Instead of letting him work on stuff in the bullpen, the Twins decided to cut bait with him.
The Twins will now have seven days to trade him away, place him on waivers, or release him altogether. If you’re the Cubs, it might not be a bad idea to trade for the recently DFA’d Woods Richardson.
There’s no doubt Woods Richardson has had a rough season to date. He has allowed at least five runs in each of his last four starts and has posted some poor metrics. His 5.82 expected ERA, 22.4% chase rate, 18.2% whiff rate, 11.5% strikeout rate, and .284 expected batting average against all rank in the bottom 10% of the league.
However, Woods Richardson is exactly the type of pitcher the Cubs should be looking to acquire right now. He’s only 25 years old and has shown some solid stuff in the past.
The right-hander finished with a 4.17 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 28 starts in 2024 and then ended the 2025 season with a 4.04 ERA and 107 strikeouts across 111 ⅓ innings pitched. Both his expected ERA (3.84) and batting average against (.214) also ranked in the upper half of the league in 2025.
It’s clear that Woods Richardson is a work in progress. He needs some major fixing and might need to change his pitching arsenal a bit. But the Cubs should be looking to make a move for the young pitcher.
Their prior success in fixing pitchers is why Chicago should look to pick up Woods Richardson. There still might be some potential here with a pitcher who doesn’t turn 26 years old until September.
