Simeon Woods Richardson (born September 27, 2000) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins. He played for the United States national baseball team in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Amateur career

Woods Richardson attended Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas. He committed to attend the University of Texas at Austin to play college baseball. The New York Mets selected Woods Richardson in the second round of the 2018 Major League Baseball draft with the 48th overall selection.[1][2]

Professional career

New York Mets

Woods Richardson was assigned to the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Mets, and later promoted to the Rookie Advanced Kingsport Mets, and posted a 1–0 win–loss record, 1.56 earned run average (ERA), and 26 strikeouts in 17+1⁄3 innings pitched.[3] He began the 2019 season with the Class-A Columbia Fireflies of the South Atlantic League.[4] He was promoted to the Advanced-A St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League (FSL) in July 2019.[5]

Toronto Blue Jays

Before Woods Richardson could report to St. Lucie, the Mets traded him and Anthony Kay to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Marcus Stroman.[6] The Blue Jays assigned Woods Richardson to the High-A Dunedin Blue Jays following the trade.[5] Over 26 starts between Columbia and Dunedin, Woods Richardson pitched to a 6–10 record, 3.80 ERA, and 126 strikeouts in 106+2⁄3 innings.[3] He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Woods Richardson opened the 2021 season with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Double-A Northeast.[8] In 11 starts for New Hampshire, he compiled a 2-4 record and 5.76 ERA with 67 strikeouts across 45+1⁄3 innings pitched.

Minnesota Twins

On July 30, 2021, Woods Richardson was traded to the Minnesota Twins along with Austin Martin in exchange for José Berríos.[9] He was assigned to the Wichita Wind Surge of the Double-A Central. Over 15 games (14 starts) between the two teams, he went 3–5 with a 5.91 ERA, 77 strikeouts, and 34 walks over 53+1⁄3 innings.[10] He opened the 2022 season back with Wichita,[11] and the Twins promoted Woods Richardson to the St. Paul Saints of the Triple-A International League in August.[12]

On October 2, 2022, Woods Richardson was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[13] He made his MLB debut for the Twins the same day against the Detroit Tigers.[14] Upon his debut, he surpassed seven players for the longest last name in MLB history with 15 characters.[15] This was surpassed on July 17, 2023, by Christian Encarnacion-Strand of the Cincinnati Reds, setting the new mark at 17 characters.[16]

Woods Richardson was optioned to Triple-A St. Paul to begin the 2023 season.[17] He made only one appearance for Minnesota, allowing five runs on seven hits with five strikeouts across 4+2⁄3 innings of work. Woods Richardson was again optioned to Triple–A St. Paul to begin the 2024 season.[18]

On April 13, 2024, Woods Richardson was recalled as the 27th man in a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, during which he earned his first career win.[19] He was optioned back to St. Paul the following day. On April 25, Woods Richardson was again recalled to the Twins.[20]

Woods Richardson made 12 appearances (10 starts) for Minnesota to begin the 2026 campaign, but struggled to an 0–7 record and 7.74 ERA with 26 strikeouts across 47+2⁄3 innings pitched. On May 30, 2026, Woods Richardson was designated for assignment by the Twins.[21]

Toronto Blue Jays (second stint)

On June 3, 2026, Woods Richardson was traded back to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations.[22] On June 8, he made his Blue Jays debut and pitched four scoreless innings with one hit allowed against the Philadelphia Phillies.[23] He cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on June 30.[24]

International career

In May 2021, Woods Richardson was named to the roster of the United States national baseball team for qualifying for baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.[25] After the team qualified, he was named to the Olympics roster on July 2.[26] The team went on to win silver, falling to Japan in the gold-medal game.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Mets sign second round pick Simeon Woods-Richardson". www.sny.tv. June 6, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  2. ↑ Upadhyaya, Parth (June 6, 2018). "Texas signee Simeon Woods-Richardson drafted No. 48 overall to New York Mets". Laredo Morning Times.
  3. 1 2 "Simeon Woods Richardson Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  4. ↑ Amato, Laura (July 20, 2019). "Mets minor leaguer Simeon Woods Richardson is growing up fast in Class A". newsday.com. Archived from the original on July 21, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  5. 1 2 Battifarano, Andrew (August 8, 2019). "Jays' Woods Richardson makes new home". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  6. ↑ "Mets, Blue Jays agree to Stroman deal". MLB.com. July 28, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  7. ↑ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Fisher Cats Announce Tentative Opening Day Roster". MiLB.com. May 3, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  9. ↑ Matheson, Keegan (July 30, 2021). "José Berríos traded to Blue Jays". MLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  10. ↑ Neal III, La Velle E. (April 6, 2022). "Twins' slow build of pitching rotation continues, even as it feels frustrating". Star Tribune. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  11. ↑ Helfand, Betsy (March 6, 2022). "After eventful 2021, Twins prospect Simeon Woods Richardson looks to reboot". Twin Cities. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Top Pitching Prospect Simeon Woods Richardson Earns Promotions to Triple-A St. Paul".
  13. ↑ "Twins' Simeon Woods-Richardson: Promoted for big-league debut". cbssports.com. October 2, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Twins fall to Tigers 5–2 in Simeon Woods Richardson's big-league pitching debut". October 2, 2022.
  15. ↑ Park, Do-Hyoung (October 2, 2022). "Simeon Woods Richardson's last name is longest in AL/NL history". MLB.com. Retrieved November 19, 2025.
  16. ↑ Simon, Andrew; Langs, Sarah (July 17, 2023). "The new longest name in MLB history? It has arrived". MLB.com. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Optioned to minors". cbssports.com. March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  18. ↑ "Twins' Simeon Woods Richardson: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Twins quietly make a roster change ahead of doubleheader with Tigers". Puckett's Pond. April 12, 2024. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Press release: Twins recall Simeon Woods Richardson on April 25 2024". MLB.com. April 25, 2024. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
  21. ↑ "Twins designate struggling Woods Richardson for assignment". ESPN.com. Associated Press. May 30, 2026. Retrieved May 30, 2026.
  22. ↑ "Blue Jays get RHP Simeon Woods Richardson from Twins for cash". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 3, 2026. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Blue Jays Fall Behind Early In Series-Opening Loss To Phillies". torontosun.com. Toronto Sun. June 8, 2026. Retrieved June 8, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Blue Jays Outright Simeon Woods Richardson". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved June 30, 2026.
  25. ↑ "Team USA Announces Olympic Qualifying Roster". usabaseball.com. May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  26. ↑ "USA Baseball announces Olympics roster". MLB.com. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Baseball/Softball – United States vs Japan – Gold Medal Game Results". olympics.com. August 7, 2021. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Woods_Richardson