Simeon Woods-Richardson won’t need any adjustment period.
The Twins traded the struggling pitcher back to the Blue Jays on Wednesday nearly five years after Minnesota acquired him from Toronto in exchange for Jose Berrios.
The circumstances are much different this time around, though, with Woods-Richardson owning the AL’s worst ERA and yielding the most runs in the Junior Circuit among pitchers with at least 40 innings pitched.
Toronto manager John Schneider said he’s unsure what role Woods-Richardson will fill for a Blue Jays team that has rebounded after a slow start, and the team’s familiarity with him factored into the acquisition.
“So whenever you’re acquiring a player, you’re kind of doing homework before and especially with a player you’re fairly familiar with too,” Schneider said, per ESPN. “So I think there’s some tweaks to the arsenal we can make and you can never have enough pitching as we know right now.”
This trade came together after the Twins designated him for assignment on May 30, and they took the cash considerations from Toronto rather than just lose him for nothing.
When the Twins originally acquired him in July 2021 before the trade deadline, his prospect status allowed him to help the Blue Jays to trade for Berrios, a tantalizing righty pitcher.
Being traded is nothing new for Woods-Richardson, who actually began his career with the Mets after being picked in the second round of the 2018 Draft.
He never pitched for the Mets since the team sent him to the Blue Jays one year later alongside Anthony Kay in the failed deal for veteran Marcus Stroman.
The 25-year-old also never pitched for Toronto during his years in the organization, meaning this trade will allow him to actually enter their record books in official fashion.
Woods-Richardson debuted in 2022 but made just one appearance that season and in 2023 before showing promise over the last two years.
He posted a cumulative 4.11 ERA across 51 outings (50 starts) and posted a better than average ERA+.
This year has been a different story due to his inflated ERA, with the righty yielding 65 hits and 46 runs (41 earned) in 47 2/3 innings.
He owns a staggering 1.888 walks and hits per innings pitched.
Even with those struggles, the Blue Jays need pitching depth due to the vast injuries they’ve endured this year during their 29-33 start.
Berrios, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber, Dylan Cease and Cody Ponce are all on the injured list, leaving Kevin Gausman and Trey Yesavage to carry a rotation that’s already far too reliant on Patrick Corbin.
Schneider praised Woods-Richardson for being a competitor with confidence.
“I think he’s kind of a pretty good, stable guy in Minnesota’s rotation for a couple years, so I think having some confidence and hopefully maybe tweaking a few things here and there can get him back on track,” Schneider said, per ESPN.
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