Woods Richardson had posted a 7.74 ERA and was recently bounced from the starting rotation.
The Minnesota Twins announced they designated starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson on Saturday, recalling right-handed reliever John Klein to fill the active roster spot.
Wood Richardson, still only 25-years-old, was an efficient starter for the Twins over the last couple seasons, providing a solid option in the back-end of the rotation. But in 2026, that production completely spiraled as those numbers went completely south of his standard.
In 12 appearances, including 10 starts, Wood Richardson had an 0-7 record and posted an abysmal 7.74 ERA in 47 ⅔ innings of work. Those struggles influenced Twins manager Derek Shelton to remove him from the starting rotation three weeks ago.
Once a top-100 prospect, the Twins held optimism in camp during the spring that he may be trending towards the right direction. He concluded the 2025 season looking very encouraging going forward. But those adjustments that had to be made, including his command improvement, did not see growth in 2026.
Command had never been the primary concern for Woods Richardson, but it immediately became one this season. His strikeout to walk ratio was essentially parallel, as he threw 26 strikeouts but walked 25 batters. His command had gone south and things unraveled quickly, never recovering from a decent first two starts to begin the year.
As a prospect, Woods Richardson came to the Twins from the Toronto Blue Jays along with Austin Martin at the 2021 trade deadline. A highly touted pitching arm, he was traded to Minnesota in exchange for the team’s ace at the time, José Berríos. He was a 2018 second-round pick by the New York Mets, who had traded him to Toronto in 2019.
Just about everything went south for Woods Richardson on the mound. His peripherals all sit drastically low — his strikeout percentage is in the 1st percentile, his chase percentage is in the 3rd and his whiff percentage is in the 7th. His stuff is already not the sharpest, as his velocity tops out around the low-to-mid 90’s with his regressing fastball.
Sending Woods Richardson to Triple-A was no longer an option for the Twins. The righty was out of minor league options, leading to the decision to move on from the former top pitching prospect.
Replacing him in the bullpen, Klein had made two appearances as a reliever in early May. He made his third appearance of the season in today’s narrow 10-9 loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates, throwing two scoreless innings but walking three batters.
