Simeon Woods Richardson, who was designated for assignment on August 28th, has cleared waivers and has elected to test the waters of free agency over staying in the Jays organization.
Woods Richardson is no stranger to the Blue Jays fanbase. The right-hander was acquired back in 2019 as part of the Marcus Stroman trade with the New York Mets, with Anthony Kay heading to the Blue Jays alongside SWR. He would then be traded to the Minnesota Twins during the 2021 trade deadline alongside Austin Martin in exchange for right-hander Jose Berrios.
After parts of five seasons with the Twins on their big league roster, Woods Richardson was designated for assignment and traded to the Jays for cash considerations on June 3rd. Across eight outings and 18.1 innings, the right-hander pitched to a 3.93 ERA and a 4.94 FIP with eight earned runs allowed compared to 12 walks and 14 strikeouts. In his first outing with Toronto, he went four innings against the Phillies with one hit allowed, and continued that scoreless stretch through June, where he added another six innings collectively with zero earned runs against. He would be DFA’d on June 26th and cleared waivers, being outrighted to Buffalo.
After returning to the Jays roster in mid-August, Woods Richardson struggled to find that stellar earlier-season form and allowed eight earned runs through his last five outings. Most came from his August 27th appearance against the Kansas City Royals, where he gave up six earned runs through one inning of work.
Woods Richardson will now try to find an opportunity with a big league club to finish out the season, as the minor league seasons are just a couple of weeks away from ending as well.
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