It's Nice To Have the Depth: Simeon Woods Richardson Clears Waivers, Heads to Buffalo

Last week, the Blue Jays designated Simeon Woods Richardson for assignment. Often, that means goodbye. However, the right-hander cleared waivers, which means none of the league's other 29 teams were willing to take on his salary and add him to their active roster. So, the Blue Jays were able to send him outright to Triple-A Buffalo. While some players can reject an outright assignment, electing free agency instead, Woods Richardson does not have that option; that's because he has less than three years of MLB service time and has never previously been outrighted in his career. 

All of this is good news for Toronto. Thirty different players have thrown a pitch for the Blue Jays in 2026. (Only the Cubs, with 31, have used more pitchers this year.) Even if you don't count position players pitching, the Jays have used more pitchers than there are spots on the active roster, and the season is barely past its halfway point. Pitching depth is critical, and the Blue Jays know that well. So do all of us watching.

Now, the next time the team needs a multi-inning arm – and there will be a next time – they'll have one at the ready. Woods Richardson is no longer taking up a spot on the 40-man roster, but the Jays can add him back to the 40-man whenever they please. That's a luxury. 

Of course, there's a reason Woods Richardson cleared waivers in the first place. He owns a 6.40 ERA this season, with equally distressing ERA estimators (FIP, xERA, SIERA, etc.). While he didn't allow a run in the 10 innings he threw for Toronto, the righty looked just as ineffectual as he had earlier this year in Minnesota, struggling to throw strikes or generate weak contact. 

In 57.2 innings between the Blue Jays and the Twins, Woods Richardson has 31 strikeouts to 32 walks. His 11.7% strikeout rate is the lowest among the 153 MLB pitchers with at least 50 IP, and he's the only arm in that group with more walks than strikeouts. That would be a huge problem even if he wasn't giving up so much hard contact in the air.

Yet, a much more effective pitcher might still be hiding underneath it all. From 2024-25, Woods Richardson was a solid, back-of-the-rotation starter, pitching to a 4.11 ERA and 3.93 xERA in 245 innings. His strikeout-to-walk ratio was a perfectly respectable 2.38 (224 K, 94 BB). Opponents still hit him hard, but fewer walks and more strikeouts allowed him to hold things together. 

Woods Richardson won't turn 26 until September. His days as a top-100 prospect might be long behind him, but his days as a capable major league starter are not. It's hardly far-fetched to wonder if he's a few small adjustments away from looking like his 2024-25 self again. 

That's another reason the Blue Jays are lucky that Woods Richardson passed through waivers. They can use him as depth if they want to. He can be the next man up in case of injury. But they can also keep him in Buffalo as a longer-term project. In the minors, he can try to throw more strikes without worrying about the negative consequences of lobbing one down the middle. He can refine his new splitter without counting how many times it ends up in the seats. The Blue Jays can wait to select his contract until, hopefully, something clicks.

As I said before, there's a reason Woods Richardson is still a Blue Jay. Every other team had a chance to claim him, and every other team said "no thanks." He's not Dylan Cease. He's not Trey Yesavage. With the right adjustments, however, perhaps he's better than Patrick Corbin. And if not, at least he's nice to have as extra depth.