Minneapolis – What do Matt Bowman, Justin Topa, and Simeon Woods Richardson all have in common? The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired or signed all of them in the past week after the Twins moved on from them in May.
Woods Richardson is the headliner. The Twins designated him for assignment on May 30 and traded him back to Toronto on Wednesday night.
Minnesota originally acquired Woods Richardson, 25, in the 2021 Jose Berrios trade. He struggled in the rotation after his first two starts of the year. He had allowed 33 runs through 30 ⅓ innings while allowing 48 hits, 17 walks, and seven home runs over a bad seven-start stretch. His ERA in that stretch was just under 10.00, sitting at 9.79 along with a 7.06 FIP.
The Twins opted to move him to the bullpen to continue to stretch him out as a long relief man. However, the opportunity didn’t yield the results they had hoped.
A rain delay cut Woods Richardson’s first outing out of the pen short due to a rain delay in Minnesota’s 6-3 win over the Houston Astros. Still, it was a good baseline. He allowed a hit and a walk, but no runs, and recorded a strikeout. He then took a week off and had two scoreless frames against the Chicago White Sox on Memorial Day.
However, the Twins needed him again for a spot start after Kendry Rojas reported left elbow inflammation before his scheduled start on Thursday, May 28. Unfortunately, he immediately regressed, allowing five earned runs off five hits and three walks through 2 ⅔ innings against the White Sox while striking out four.
When the Twins needed fresh arms in Pittsburgh, the Twins made the difficult decision to take him off the 40-man roster.
“Obviously, this last stretch and turn through the rotation, not getting deep into games, an extra-inning game, clunky games, it leads to some unfortunate realities along the way,” Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll said of Woods Richardson on Monday.
“Sim obviously did his best on short notice. He figured he was going to pitch in the game, but to do that, we just couldn’t dig ourselves out of that churn we were on with everything that was going on over the course of last week.”
The Blue Jays sent cash to the Twins for Woods Richardson on Wednesday night, bringing his journey full circle. Minnesota originally acquired Woods Richardson and Austin Martin for Jose Berrios at the 2021 MLB trade deadline. He had brief stints with the team in 2022 and 2023, but he established a role in the rotation in 2024 and 2025.
Woods Richardson leaves the Twins with a career 4.76 ERA, 4.64 FIP, and 1.39 WHIP. He had 258 strikeouts, 124 walks, and a .255 opponent average over 61 starts and four relief appearances. Woods Richardson ranked as a top 100 prospect before the trade, and was as high as Minnesota’s eighth-best prospect in 2023. Therefore, the ultimate outcome for Woods Richardson with the Twins was disappointing.
He had finished the 2025 season strong, posting a 2.33 ERA with nine walks, 36 strikeouts, and a 2.54 FIP over his last five starts. The Twins were hoping he could build off that success in 2026, and there were brief signs in his first two starts of the year, as he allowed just three earned runs in 11 ⅔ innings. But after his last start in Toronto, he could never recapture what he once had.
Now the Blue Jays will hope to reestablish Woods Richardson as the starter they once had in their farm system.
In addition to Woods Richardson, the Blue Jays also signed Topa to a minor-league deal after the Twins released him on May 23. Topa has yet to appear in a game with Triple-A Buffalo. He last threw on May 18 against the Houston Astros, when he allowed three runs on three hits, a walk, and a hit batter.
Topa owned an 8.05 ERA in 23 appearances while walking 11 batters and only striking out 12.
The Jays also picked up Bowman after he was granted his release from the Twins on May 19. Bowman was dominant with the St. Paul Saints in 14 appearances, posting a 1.69 ERA and 1.13 WHIP over 21 ⅓ innings. However, he has allowed seven earned runs on five hits, a home run, and two walks through three appearances with Triple-A Buffalo.
Toronto now has Woods Richardson, Topa, Bowman, and Jorge Alcala, whom the Jays signed in the off-season. The Twins have had success with former Tampa Bay Rays pitchers like Griffin Jax, Taj Bradley, and Yoendrys Gomez. The Blue Jays are trying to do the same thing with Minnesota’s former pitchers. They’re trying to find a winning lottery ticket among them who can become a staple in the rotation in 2026 and beyond.
