With the recent injury news for Trey Yesavage and now Jameson Taillon, the Toronto Blue Jays went from having a potential six-man rotation back down to just four confirmed spots.

With both on the injured list for the foreseeable future, the team needs to consider who it can use to start for them given the circumstances. The Jays have resorted to the opener strategy with usually Braydon Fisher opening followed by Spencer Miles, which has had mixed results. With José Soriano, Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer joining Dylan Cease to round out the rotation, the fifth spot is up for grabs.

Enter Simeon Woods Richardson, who the club traded for from the Twins back on June 3. At the time of the acquisition, Woods Richardson was 0-7 with a 7.74 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP, so there were doubts on his ability. In the small sample size that he has thrown since returning to the Blue Jays, Woods Richardson has recorded a 0.69 ERA in four games, but has walked eight batters across 13 innings of work

Given how injury-prone the rotation has been for Toronto, Woods Richardson was designated for assignment by the Jays back on June 26.  The 25-year-old right-hander had to be selected to the 40-man roster and had space after designating catcher Willie MacIver for assignment.

In his first game back in the majors back on Monday, Woods Richardson went three innings of work while only surrendering a single run to the Boston Red Sox, albeit by some controversial circumstances. In 13 innings pitched, the quality of pitches has led to more flyouts and ground balls than whiffs; however, given how the Blue Jays’ defence has looked down the stretch, it can help lead to more run prevention.

During his time playing with the Buffalo Bisons in Triple-A, Woods Richardson has put up a 4.07 ERA with 20 strikeouts across 23.1 innings of work. With John Schneider saying that it’s now “full send” mode for the Blue Jays, having someone who can eat innings and relieve a taxed bullpen is crucial given the stretch of games leading into mid-August.

With the series against the Red Sox wrapped up,  Schneider alluded to Woods Richardson potentially starting Saturday against the New York Yankees. The Yankees currently have Cam Schlittler lined up to counter, so it would be a very big test and vote of confidence if he can pitch a minimum of five innings. With the Jays sitting 2.0 games out of the final Wild Card spot, dreams of postseason are not dead until they are mathematically eliminated; let’s see where the ride takes us.

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