Blue Jays Reacquire Woods Richardson for Cash
The Blue Jays got woods richardson back last week, acquiring Simeon Woods Richardson from the Minnesota Twins for cash. Toronto sent him to Minnesota in the 2021 José Berríos trade, then brought him back while the pitching staff kept shuffling through arms.
Woods Richardson has a 7.74 ERA in 12 appearances this year and leads the American League with seven losses. He has not yet pitched for Toronto since the move.
John Schneider’s bullpen need
John Schneider said Toronto needed another arm for the time being. "You need another arm too for the time being, and hopefully you get him back to being a pretty reliable major league arm."
That need came after Toronto cycled through Chase Lee, Connor Seabold, Hayden Juenger, Austin Voth and Chad Dallas in the bullpen in the last two weeks. The club has been managing many injured pitchers, which made a fresh arm more useful than a long wait for certainty.
Woods Richardson’s 2024 change
Before the 2024 season, Woods Richardson altered his arm slot from 67 degrees to 47 degrees. His splitter has been described as the worst pitch in baseball this year by Baseball Savant’s pitching run value, and Toronto may try to have him scrap it and possibly revive the change-up he used early in his major league career.
The Blue Jays also sent three Cy Young finalists to Buffalo on rehab assignment this week: Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer and Shane Bieber. The Bisons played the Worcester Red Sox while those starters were with Triple-A Buffalo, another sign that Toronto is trying to keep enough pitching available at every level.
Blue Jays still sorting identity
Ernie Clement said the club has not yet found its identity this season. "We’re still figuring it out," he said on Sunday. "We’re a really good team. We have a chance to be a great team. It’s just about kind of nailing things down."
That is the backdrop for Woods Richardson’s return: Toronto did not wait for the rotation picture to settle before adding a pitcher it already knew. The immediate question is whether he can become the reliable major league arm Schneider said the club needs right now.
