The Toronto Blue Jays trail the Cleveland Guardians by just 1½ games in the race for the third and final American League wild-card spot, and after completing a three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners, the Blue Jays now travel to Cleveland for a crucial three-game set.
After winning four of their last five, including a 7-0 shutout of the Mariners on Sunday, Toronto sends trade deadline acquisition Spencer Arrighetti to the mound Tuesday against the Guardians, and the Blue Jays try to seize that playoff berth from Cleveland.
Before heading to Cleveland for the season-defining series, the Blue Jays announced a decision on a right-handed pitcher who was once a second-round draft pick of the New York Mets.
Toronto outrighted right-handed pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson to Triple-A Buffalo on Monday, closing out his third disastrous big league stint of 2026.
Toronto designated him for assignment three days earlier after a six-run meltdown against Kansas City, but the move leaves the club’s bullpen depth thinner before the Cleveland series that could decide the Blue Jays’ fate in the wild-card race.
Simeon Woods Richardson’s Wild Week With Toronto
The Blue Jays recalled right-hander CJ Van Eyk from Triple-A Buffalo and designated Woods Richardson for assignment as the corresponding move on Friday, according to CBC Sports.
The move came a day after Woods Richardson allowed six earned runs in one inning during a 13-2 loss to the Royals, walking two and giving up five hits. It marked the third time this season Woods Richardson had been designated for assignment.
He cleared waivers over the weekend, and Toronto sent him outright to Buffalo on Monday after no other club put in a waiver claim, meaning he stays in the organization but is now cut from the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster.
Between his time with Minnesota and Toronto this year, Woods Richardson finished 2-7 with a 6.68 ERA over 66 innings, striking out 40 and walking almost the same number, 37 to be exact.
How the Jays Ended Up With Richardson Again
Toronto is fighting for a wild-card spot despite sitting in last place in the American League East, and the club has been mixing and matching pitching depth all season.
Woods Richardson had actually pitched his way back into the picture. He was selected from Buffalo on Aug. 10 after posting a 1.65 ERA and a 14-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his final four Triple-A outings, per stats posted by CBS Sports. He carried a 3.93 ERA into his final relief appearance before the Royals meltdown wiped it out.
The August stretch was Woods Richardson’s second tour with Toronto this year. The Twins designated him for assignment on May 30 after a calamitous 0-7 start with a 7.74 ERA. The Blue Jays acquired him for cash on June 3.
The Mets took Woods Richardson in the second round, as the 48th overall pick of the 2018 draft out of Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas, signing him for $1.85 million, well above the roughly $1.485 million slot value, according to Baseball America.
Toronto originally acquired him and left-hander Anthony Kay from New York in the Marcus Stroman trade before sending him to Minnesota with Austin Martin for José Berríos in 2021. He won a silver medal with Team USA at the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics without pitching in the tournament, and Baseball America once ranked him as high as the No. 8 prospect in both the Mets’ and Twins’ farm systems.
Blue Jays Announce Decision on Former Mets 2nd-Round Pick Before Guardians Game