Twins Option Simeon Woods Richardson to Triple-A St. Paul, Signaling Rotation Shakeup Ahead

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

It's been a tough follow-up to what was a career-making year for Simeon Woods Richardson in 2024. He never exactly looked like a frontline starter, but he did yeoman's work at the back end of an injury-diminished Twins rotation, keeping them afloat until the final month. Alas, he then burned out pretty badly, and so far this season, he has looked more like the tired version of himself from the end of last year than like the guy who was so essential to the club until late August.

Since Aug. 1, 2024, Woods Richardson has a 5.06 ERA and a 125 FIP- (where 100 is average and lower is better), according to FanGraphs. He's struck out 20.8% of opposing batters, walked 9.6% of them, and given up home runs in 4.2% of opponents' plate appearances. Those numbers just don't add up to (or point toward) success, and with 80 innings pitched in 18 total outings (17 of them starts), he's also not giving the team any semblance of length or protection for the bullpen.

Whether he can turn things around from here is an open question; his big-league future might lie in the bullpen. For now, though, the team will turn to one of its young starters at Triple-A St. Paul, swapping Woods Richardson out with them. At first blush, the choices for the team to pitch in that rotation spot are Zebby Matthews, David Festa and Andrew Morris, any of whom could pitch on typical rest this weekend. In the meantime, they kept Kody Funderburk on the 26-man roster after he came up to be the 27th man for the doubleheader Wednesday, and will roll with a deeper bullpen for a couple days as they recuperate from the strain that twin bill placed on their pen.

Festa would be joining the rotation for a second stint this year, while Morris would require a 40-man roster move to come up and fill the gap in the schedule. Length will be important; the team needs whoever comes up to be in a better position to both keep the team in low-scoring games and take a bit of pressure off the bullpen. For now, while Woods Richardson has been an important part of the team for the last year-plus, he could no longer fill that bill.

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[ryan189]

morris just pitched and has not been good so either festa or zebby

[Doctor Gast]

 

This is just a needed reset for SWR.  Remember, he is still rather young so I am confident in his return.

I agree, they sent down SWR so he can work on some things. None of the SPs who will come up will give you over 5 innings. SWR will be back up at some point.

[rdehring]

Interesting move.  As I watched SWR the past year plus, am always anxious to see if he would get out of trouble.  Also always seems to struggle to finish five innings.  With that said, the results were good most of the time.  Also seems, at least to me, that he hasn't been as successful this year as last.

So it isn't a shock that they made this move, especially with the need for a starter this weekend.  Expect it will be either Zebby or Festa.  Will give whoever arrives a chance to make a statement that says, "I am here for good."

With France and Bader leaving yesterday's game and today's collision the position player moves, if any are made, are going to much more interesting.  Will McCusker finally get his chance?  Or maybe Fitzgerald?

[jorgenswest]

 

This is just a needed reset for SWR.  Remember, he is still rather young so I am confident in his return.

Agree.

I also believe the rain out forced the issue. They had the rotation set for Guardians/Royals week before the rain with SWR pitching Sunday. By calling up Funderburk instead of a starter I think they had decided to make this move before he took the mound yesterday.

[jmlease1]

It's a fair decision. SWR has the option remaining, Festa has been excellent and Matthews has shown plenty as well. While I like SWR's range of pitches and ability to battle, he's been the worst starter out of the group so far. Paddack hasn't been a lot better, but has shown more peak value and when you look at their starts SWR has really only had 2 good ones all season. Paddack has had 3 good ones and hasn't had an implosion since his second start and seems to be finding a bit of a groove. SWR really struggled yesterday and it's hard to see him getting deep into games.

I'd like it to be Festa, who did fine the last time he was up and looks ready for the challenge.

[bean5302]

 

This is just a needed reset for SWR.  Remember, he is still rather young so I am confident in his return.

I don't know as I'm so bullish on his youth. While his physical age isn't too old at 24, this is his 8th professional season, and his 4th season where he's seen action at the MLB level. Sim's slow progress on improving as a pitcher due to his lack of commitment to address long standing mechanical issues saw SWR make only 1 appearance in each of 2022 and 2023. Without his effort to reach out to the coaching staff last spring, and his subsequent new found commitment to stick to the long advocated adjustments, he'd already have watched his ship sale as a rotation piece.

If he stays in St. Paul for 20 days, which I think is likely, he'll have burned his last option. That makes Sim a trade candidate or a bullpen candidate. Without options, he's not going to be injury replacement depth. I think a team desperate for pitching on a budget would likely pony up something of value for SWR. That said, I also don't think the Twins are in a position to pull the trigger on a trade right now as the depth in AAA gets awfully thin if Festa is added to the rotation.

[Mike Sixel]

Makes sense. Hopefully he re-finds his stuff. I think it will be Festa, but we'll see.

[USAFChief]

Overdue move.

Hoping for Matthews. 

[farmerguychris]

I think his development was stunted out of necessity of needing him to start last year before he was truly ready.  He held his own with closely monitored starts so far in the majors.  BUT - hopefully this is just a chance to send him down, get him reset and develop some of the things they would have addressed at AAA last year if they hadn't needed him at Target Field.

 

[Craig Arko]

Sounds like it will be Zebby.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/05/twins-option-simeon-woods-richardson.html

[thelanges5]

Matthews on Sunday per Bobby Nightengale. Nothing official yet. 

[GNess]

SWR definitely needs to wrk through some things before he can be trusted again as a SP in MLB. Bullpen may be in his future as with many failed Starters the change might provide a solid MLB career.

Festa to pitch Sunday for the Twins? 

[BrokenCompass]

4 hours ago, rdehring said:

Interesting move.  As I watched SWR the past year plus, am always anxious to see if he would get out of trouble.  Also always seems to struggle to finish five innings.  With that said, the results were good most of the time.  Also seems, at least to me, that he hasn't been as successful this year as last.

My thoughts mirror these - the guy looks serviceable but he really labors to get through 5 innings. It seems like a typical box score from him will be something like: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3K. 

He seems to escape getting throttled (except yesterday) but never really tosses any gems. He's certainly good enough to pitch in the majors and the fact that the Twins SP depth is deep enough for them to casually send SWR down to AAA says good things. 

He'll be back later in the year, injuries and needed rest for others will make him a nice piece as the dog days of August start to give wear and tear. Having a reserve arm like this is nice insurance. 

[weitz41]

This was a bit of a surprise to me. Short leash maybe with Festa and Zebby pitching so well in AAA? I doubt it will be a long-term thing unless who is called up is dominating. 

[DocBauer]

The SWR that we saw for the bulk of 2024...nursed along a little to begin with...was pretty good and seemed to get better until he ran out of gas to end the season.

While he didn't pitch great so far this season, I don't recall any blow ups until his last start. I don't know that that bad inning would have necessitated the Twins sending him down at this time. I think they would have sent him out to the mound another turn or two before making a move. But the rainout really scrambles the rotation for the next week. And since SWR has options, he's the logical choice to go down and bring someone else up rather than move everyone else up a day.

Personally, I feel Sim has a solid future ahead of him as a good back end SP. But I'm not so sure Festa and Matthews don't have better pure stuff and brighter futures. This gives him a chance...deserved or not...to get in a groove, stay sharp, and come back in the near future as needed. But the depth of having an arm like Matthews now gets a shot. 

Sim will be back. He has a future, and is young enough to continue to improve. But he's not throwing exactly great right now, and a move like this keeps the rotation on track. I'm excited to see what Matthews does.

[FlyingFinn]

I think the Twins don't view much gap between SWR, Festa and Matthews as there current 5th through 7th starters. The Twins also like to give these young guys a break or skip a start to keep the total annual innings pitched down and sending SWR can allow for this. Festa just skipped a start (read it was due to arm fatigue) but he is scheduled to pitch in AAA on Friday. Finally, many teams like give these projected future starters several chances to come up and then work on things in AAA. I'm thinking that (and the Twins think they are very close to each other in talent) is the reason it's Matthews over Festa.

[minman1982]

It has to be Zebby coming up. He has been great in the minors this year. 7 starts with a 1.93 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, and 10.5 K/9. I agree that it appears the Twins see Matthews, Festa, and SWR as near equals. I don't see a future where SWR becomes a long term starter. I could see him becoming a great bullpen arm. 

[jorgenswest]

Going into the Guardian series on Monday they probably want the starter that gives them the best chance of limiting the use of the pen. Which of Matthew or Festa is likelier to go deeper into the game?

[mickster]

17 hours ago, rdehring said:

Interesting move.  As I watched SWR the past year plus, am always anxious to see if he would get out of trouble.  Also always seems to struggle to finish five innings.  With that said, the results were good most of the time.  Also seems, at least to me, that he hasn't been as successful this year as last.

So it isn't a shock that they made this move, especially with the need for a starter this weekend.  Expect it will be either Zebby or Festa.  Will give whoever arrives a chance to make a statement that says, "I am here for good."

With France and Bader leaving yesterday's game and today's collision the position player moves, if any are made, are going to much more interesting.  Will McCusker finally get his chance?  Or maybe Fitzgerald?

Due to positional flexibility it just might be Gasper again.

[Doctor Wu]

Even with all these moving parts on the team lately, mainly due to the rash of injuries, the move isn't that surprising, but I thought they might just move SWR to the bullpen and try him there instead. But hey, maybe another AAA stint will help him regain some effectiveness and confidence. No idea who gets to replace him in the rotation, but sounds like Zebby is the best choice.

[TopGunn#22]

Lots of good comments.  SWR has ALWAYS struggled to get thru 5 innings, but he's been "decent" thru the first 3 or so.  With SWR, I've always felt like he's walking a tightrope.  One false step and he's giving up a 5-spot.  He's been pretty good at working out of jams, stranding runners. 

I disagree that the Twins see SWR, Matthews and Festa as essentially "the same."  Or maybe I should say I don't.  The ceilings of Matthews and Festa are just higher.  Matthews has outstanding command and Festa just has better pure stuff.

I think bean5302 was very insightful when he said SWR, once out of options, is a candidate for the BP, especially if Matthews or Festa (I think it will be Matthews) comes up and stakes a claim to a rotation spot.  OR...SWR becomes a trade candidate.  With position players dropping like flies and a SP needy team like the Orioles or Cubs out there, we could see a trade.

Not saying we WILL.  But bean5302 raised the possibility, and I think he's made an interesting point, at least for further discussion.  

Dr. Gast...calling Dr. Gast !! We need a Twins & Orioles BBTV's TRADE PROPOSAL...STAT !!  What would an SWR trade to the Orioles bring to the Twins??  What about the Cubs?  

[madtowntwin]

1 hour ago, TopGunn#22 said:

Lots of good comments.  SWR has ALWAYS struggled to get thru 5 innings, but he's been "decent" thru the first 3 or so.  With SWR, I've always felt like he's walking a tightrope.  One false step and he's giving up a 5-spot.  He's been pretty good at working out of jams, stranding runners. 

I disagree that the Twins see SWR, Matthews and Festa as essentially "the same."  Or maybe I should say I don't.  The ceilings of Matthews and Festa are just higher.  Matthews has outstanding command and Festa just has better pure stuff.

I think bean5302 was very insightful when he said SWR, once out of options, is a candidate for the BP, especially if Matthews or Festa (I think it will be Matthews) comes up and stakes a claim to a rotation spot.  OR...SWR becomes a trade candidate.  With position players dropping like flies and a SP needy team like the Orioles or Cubs out there, we could see a trade.

Not saying we WILL.  But bean5302 raised the possibility, and I think he's made an interesting point, at least for further discussion.  

Dr. Gast...calling Dr. Gast !! We need a Twins & Orioles BBTV's TRADE PROPOSAL...STAT !!  What would an SWR trade to the Orioles bring to the Twins??  What about the Cubs?  

The Cubs, Orioles, Brewers, Phillies, Braves...There would be a lot of interested teams I would imagine. The bullpen could be an option, but more end stage in my opinion. As previously stated in a post SWR did run out of steam last season and seemed to loose a bit of focus and sharpness with some of his selection of pitches / location. Simplification of repertoire may be in order in addition to sharpening on focused pitches. It may well be that a skipped start and mental / physical break would be beneficial. It seems a bit early to move this talent just yet - Either to the pen or to another team. 

[Linus]

I disagree with the notion that the Twins have extra pitching. They have a nice amount of pitching but right now I would rather have SWR, Paddack, Feata and Mathews than more prospects. It’s a long season and we are only in mid - May. 

[LambchoP]

Looks like it'll be Zebby pitching on Sunday. It'd be great if he can pitch a quality start and force the team to keep him up here. Sim needs to work on a few things. If he can improve his stamina and struggles second and third time through the order, he can still be a serviceable back end starter. If not, maybe his place is in the pen. Having a reliever who can give you 2-3 innings is pretty rare nowadays and would be very valuable. I don't think I would try to trade him. Aside from Festa and Mathews our AAA pitching has not looked good so far...