The Twins have no shortage of starting pitching depth. Behind Lopez, Ryan, and Ober, the last two rotation spots have yet to be determined. From inexperienced and high upside options like Mick Abel to experienced pitchers like Taj Bradley, who has made 75 starts in his career already, the Twins will have to choose who heads north with the two remaining rotation spots. Simeon Woods Richardson should already be penciled in for one of them.
Simeon Woods Richardson’s resume to this point in his career may not be that of a high-end starting pitcher, but it’s more than good enough to have earned a spot at the back end of an MLB rotation. With a 4.21 ERA across 254 innings, Richardson has had his fair share of struggles but has also helped keep the Twins’ pitching staff afloat at times.
He’s also shown an ability to adjust, most recently by adding a splitter to his arsenal, which became arguably his most effective pitch last season. He seemed to find something at the end of 2025, allowing two runs in his last three starts and striking out 23 hitters in his last 17 innings. He’s already shown that he’s a capable back-of-the-rotation starting pitcher. Though he lacks the excitement of Zebby Matthews or David Festa, Woods Richardson is only a few months older than these two despite a much longer track record of better performance.
Roster flexibility has to be a major consideration, and Simeon Woods Richardson is out of minor league options. Assuming he isn’t traded, he will make the Opening Day roster. Unlike many other rotation candidates, the Twins can’t stash him in St. Paul to await a future opening in the rotation. He needs to break camp with the team either in the rotation or in the bullpen. The latter seems like an odd fit.
While we’ve seen recent success with the Twins moving starting pitchers to the bullpen and turning them into impact relievers, it’s worth wondering how well-suited Woods Richardson is to this path. He doesn’t get outs in a way that would traditionally project a step-up in performance in shorter stints.
The repertoire essentially became a four-pitch mix in 2025 as he scrapped his changeup for what was a dominant splitter. His new pitch drew whiffs at a 32.7% rate and was nearly unhittable with a .168 xwOBA allowed. His slider was his second-best pitch in terms of whiffs and quality of contact allowed. Unfortunately, it would take an enormous leap in fastball performance to see it all come together in a bullpen role. His heater graded out at 83 in the Stuff+ metric, where 100 is average. This is despite the pitch averaging a career-high 93.1 mph. The Twins have a long list of young pitchers who could profile as a much-needed high-leverage reliever. Simeon Woods Richardson is toward the bottom of that list without an intriguing fastball.
We’ve seen the Twins choose to keep young, optionable pitchers in Triple-A to begin the season, instead trusting more experienced, known commodities. We should expect them to do so again. Instead of low ceiling, short-term fillers like J.A. Happ, Matt Shoemaker, etc., who we’ve seen them roll with in the past, they would be doing the same with 25-year-old Simeon Woods Richardson this time. With team control through 2030, what would be considered the “least exciting” option for the back end of the rotation would come with plenty of upside.
It may be a different conversation if Zebby Matthews or David Festa had put together more success in their careers thus far, or if another pitcher with more perceived upside was also out of options. The truth is that Simeon Woods Richardson can easily be argued as the safest choice for an open rotation spot on a team that will need every win they can get. Awarding him the job allows the team to maintain maximum starting pitching depth, with his potential competition being stashed at St. Paul to be called up at a moment’s notice. He’s also performed better than anyone else in this group across a much larger sample size than most.
While it’s easy to get excited about some of the new or up-and-coming arms in the system, Simeon Woods Richardson remains the best option to fill one of the two remaining rotation spots. Do you agree?