The Twins may have a dilemma on their hands.
The Minnesota Twins are 14-20 and running out of patience with Simeon Woods Richardson.
The 25-year-old right-hander took the loss Friday night in a 7-3 defeat to the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field, falling to 0-5 on the season with a 6.49 ERA through 34 2/3 innings.
Woods Richardson lasted just 4 2/3 innings, giving up nine hits and four earned runs while striking out only two.
Kazuma Okamoto went deep twice off him, and the Blue Jays were on him from the second inning on.
The Twins have now lost six of his seven starts this season.
The Splitter Problem
After the game, Twins manager Derek Shelton zeroed in on Woods Richardson's splitter and the way hitters have been squaring it up with ease lately.
"It's strange. And I think it's more execution and more location," Shelton said. "When that split is down, he gets swing and miss, he gets soft contact, but when it stays up and in the middle of the plate... we're seeing the results on it of the location of it."
Shelton also added that the home runs both came in deficit counts on pitches left in the middle of the plate, and said the staff needs to continue executing better.
Friday was a perfect example of the problem.
Blue Jays hitters swung at 14 of Woods Richardson's splitters and didn't whiff on a single one, collecting three hits off the pitch.
That same splitter looked like a legitimate weapon earlier this season, especially during a strong outing against the Yankees when it generated eight swinging strikes.
Over the past few weeks, though, that version of the pitch has vanished.
Woods Richardson even acknowledged after the game that hitters are sitting on the splitter now, saying that if it's a good pitch, why wouldn't they.
What Happens Next
Here's where it gets complicated.
Woods Richardson is out of minor league options, so the Twins can't just ship him to Triple-A St. Paul the way they have in previous years.
If they put him on waivers, another team could scoop him up and Minnesota loses him for nothing.
So they're stuck, at least for the time being.
Mick Abel is expected back from injury sometime this month, and once he's ready, the Twins could move Woods Richardson out of the rotation without needing a waiver move.
Until Abel returns, Shelton and the coaching staff are going to keep handing the ball to Woods Richardson and hoping the splitter location tightens up before his next outing.
Opposing hitters are batting .311 against him this season, and his 17 strikeouts across 34 2/3 innings paint a clear picture of a pitcher who is simply not missing bats.
The Twins need something from him if they want to stay in the conversation in the AL Central, but every start is making that harder to believe in.