Blue Jays Designate Simeon Woods Richardson For Assignment

The Blue Jays announced that they have recalled left-hander Adam Macko. Righty Simeon Woods Richardson has been designated for assignment as a corresponding move. That drops the club’s 40-man roster count to 39, though they reportedly plan on selecting infielder Sean Keys tomorrow, so that spot may not stay vacant for long.

Woods Richardson, 25, was acquired from the Twins earlier this month after being designated for assignment. That was a bit of a homecoming, as Woods Richardson was once a Blue Jays prospect. Acquired from the Mets in the 2019 Marcus Stroman trade, he was sent to Minnesota in the 2021 José Berríos trade. Though he was once a prospect of note, he struggled to develop into a viable rotation candidate in Minnesota. He exhausted his options and got squeezed into DFA limbo, which led to the trade to Toronto.

The Jays used him in a long relief role. His results were great in a surface-level way, as he tossed ten scoreless innings over three outings. However, he was walking a fine line. He only struck out 13.2% of batters faced in that small sample and gave out walks at an awful 18.4% pace. He kept the runs off the board thanks to a .154 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate.

The club has a less of a need for Woods Richardson now, compared to when they made the trade. Dylan Cease and Shane Bieber were both on the IL at the time but have since been activated. Those two are now in the rotation alongside Trey Yesavage, Kevin Gausman and Patrick Corbin, meaning the Jays should be doing fewer bullpen games going forward.

Woods Richardson tossed three innings in relief of Gausman last night, throwing 43 pitches in the process. He wasn’t going to be available for a few days and the Jays now have a fresh bullpen, since Woods Richardson’s coverage meant no one else had to pitch last night, so the Jays have squeezed Woods Richardson off the roster.

He now heads into DFA limbo once again. That can last as long as a week, though the waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Jays can take as long as five days to explore trade interest. It seems likely that he’ll find another opportunity elsewhere. His results this year haven’t been good, as he has a combined 6.40 ERA between the Twins and Jays, but he was a passable back-end starter over the previous two seasons. Over the 2024 and 2025 campaigns, he logged 245 innings with a 4.11 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.

There are several clubs dealing with mounting rotation injury situations, perhaps most notably the Cubs, but also the Diamondbacks, Royals, Angels, and others. Someone could give him a shot and hope he holds down a spot for a while. It’s also possible a rebuilding club with long-term pitching needs, such as the Rockies or Giants, takes a shot. Woods Richardson is under club control for four seasons after this one, though he’ll obviously have to turn his season around for that to be something worth thinking about.