Simeon Woods Richardson is staying in the Blue Jays organization, but not on the major league roster. The right-hander cleared waivers after his recent designation for assignment and has been outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo, according to Mitch Bannon of The Athletic.
Because Woods Richardson does not have the prior outright assignment or the service time needed to reject the move in favor of free agency, he’ll remain in the system as rotation depth.
Toronto only just brought him in earlier this month, acquiring him from the Twins in a cash deal after Minnesota designated him for assignment. Woods Richardson looked sharp on the surface with the Blue Jays, throwing 10 shutout innings across three appearances.
But the underlying numbers told a different story: he allowed four hits and seven walks while striking out only five. His 6.2% swinging-strike rate and 17% opponents’ chase rate were also down from already modest marks in his 47 2/3 innings with Minnesota, and the rest of the league apparently wasn’t convinced the run prevention would last.
That’s a tough landing spot for a pitcher who was once viewed as a major prospect. The Mets took Woods Richardson in the second round, 48th overall, in 2018. He later became a notable piece in two big trades, first going from New York to Toronto with Anthony Kay in the Marcus Stroman deal, then heading from Toronto to Minnesota with Austin Martin in the José Berríos trade.
The big-league results have been solid at times, just not quite at the level some projected a few years ago. From 2024-25 with the Twins, Woods Richardson logged 245 innings and posted a 4.11 ERA, enough to look like a back-end starter. He struck out 21.5% of hitters and walked 9%, but home runs and troubles the second and third time through the order kept him from taking a bigger step forward.
He opened the 2026 season with a real chance to stick. Out of minor league options, Woods Richardson broke camp in Minnesota’s rotation and started well, allowing just three runs over his first 11 2/3 innings.
Then things unraveled fast. Over his next eight outings, he was tagged for 38 runs, with more walks (12.2%) than strikeouts (11%).
Even a Twins team hit hard by injuries decided to move on, and Toronto, dealing with its own pitching issues, followed suit.
For now, the move sends Woods Richardson to Buffalo, where he can try to reset in a lower-pressure setting. If he gets himself back on track, he could become a rotation option for Toronto if the injury problems keep piling up. The Blue Jays could also look at him in relief at Buffalo, which would give him another path back to the majors.
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