Simeon Woods Richardson Activated By Blue Jays

[Steve Drumwright]

 

The return of Simeon Woods Richardson to the Toronto Blue Jays is official.

The Jays on Friday added Woods Richardson to the 26-man roster and demoted right-handed starter Chad Dallas to Triple-A Buffalo after a nice MLB debut the day before.

Woods Richardson was originally drafted by the New York Mets in the second round in 2018, then dealt to the Jays at the 2019 trade deadline in the Marcus Stroman deal. Two years later, Woods Richardson was on the move again as the Jays shipped him to the Minnesota Twins in a trade-deadline move to acquire right-hander Jose Berrios. Just a few days ago, after being designated for assignment by the Twins, Woods Richardson was reacquired by the Jays in a cash transaction.

While he has the tools to be a good piece in a starting rotation, he has struggled in 2026. In 10 starts and two relief appearances with the Twins, Woods Richardson had a 6.17 FIP (7.74 ERA) over 47⅔ innings with a .330 opponent batting average. His walk rate is up (11% this year, 9.5% career), while his strikeouts have been down remarkably (11.5%, 19.7%).

How Woods Richardson eventually fits into the Jays' pitching staff is yet to be determined, but he figures to initially begin in a relief role.

Dallas, meanwhile, was only expected to get the one appearance after being called up Thursday to make his MLB debut. And it went very well for the 25-year-old, who was the bulk guy behind opener Mason Fluharty in Thursday's 7-2 win over Atlanta. Dallas went 3⅔ innings, allowing one run on two hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts.

 

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[Terminator]

I like this pickup but struggling #5 SPs without options aren't always easy to carry on the roster. Going to need to make some heavy use of phantom injuries (aka the Dodgers Special) to keep everyone.