The Twins outrighted Richards to Triple-A St. Paul on Monday.
Richards had been designated for assignment following a 4.15 ERA with 11 walks and seven wild pitches in 13 innings after being acquired at the trade deadline. He's no longer on the 40-man roster but will remain in the organization as relief depth at St. Paul.
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Twins' Trevor Richards: DFA'd by Minnesota
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Richards was designated for assignment by Minnesota on Tuesday.
The Twins acquired Richards at the trade deadline for minor-league infielder Jay Harry, but he struggled with the Twins. Richards had a 4.15 ERA with 11 walks and seven wild pitches in 13 innings as he could not command his changeup - his key out pitch. The Twins have struggled with finding depth in their bullpen and cut their losses.
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Twins' Trevor Richards: Picks up first save
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Richards earned the save during a 6-3 win over the Guardians in the second game of Friday's doubleheader. He struck out one in a perfect ninth inning.
After Jhoan Duran earned the save in the first game of the doubleheader, Richards got the call in the nightcap, setting down Cleveland in order to earn his first save of the year. It's a nice bounce-back effort from Richards, who allowed three runs while issuing five walks in just two-thirds of an inning in his last appearance. Overall, the 31-year-old Richards sports a 4.82 ERA with a 1.18 WHIP and 53:29 K:BB across 56 innings between the Twins and Blue Jays this year.
The Twins acquired Richards on Tuesday in exchange for infielder Jay Harry, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
Richards will provide the Twins with a right-handed option out of the bullpen who's capable of covering multiple innings. The 31-year-old covered 52.1 frames over his 45 appearances with the Blue Jays this season, logging a 4.64 ERA with seven holds and a 49:24 K:BB.
Richards struck out one over two scoreless innings of relief in Monday's 7-3 loss to the Red Sox. He gave up no hits and one walk in the 33-pitch appearance.
He had served as an opening pitcher in front of Bowden Francis in two of his previous five appearances, but Richards looks set to occupy a full-time role in the bullpen moving forward. The Blue Jays are expected to bring back Yariel Rodriguez (back) from the 15-day injured list this weekend in Cleveland, and he'll presumably step into the No. 5 spot in the rotation that had previously been covered by Richards-Francis tandem.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Set to start Saturday
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Richards will serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher for Saturday's matchup with the Guardians, Keegan Matheson of MLB.com repports.
Richards operated as an opener in the team's 10-1 loss to the Orioles on June 4 and he appears to be set for a similar role Saturday. The right-hander reached his season-high 40 pitches in that matchup with Baltimore and likely won't last long enough to qualify for a win versus Cleveland. Bowden Francis is expected to operate as a bulk reliever once Richards exits the contest.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Serving as opener Tuesday
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Richards will serve as the Blue Jays' opening pitcher Tuesday against the Orioles, Mike Wilner of The Toronto Star reports.
Richards has gone more than one inning in seven of his 25 relief appearances this season, including a 3.1-inning appearance last Wednesday against the White Sox. However, he hasn't thrown more than 38 pitches in any outing and will be pitching on just one day of rest after making an one-inning appearance Sunday versus Pittsburgh. The expectation is that Bowden Francis (forearm) will be activated from the 15-day injured list to work in bulk relief behind Richards.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Steps up, earns win Wednesday
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Richards (1-0) allowed a hit and a walk over 3.1 scoreless innings to earn the win Wednesday versus the White Sox.
Alek Manoah started the game but left in the second inning due to right elbow discomfort. Richards stepped up with his longest outing of the season to at least partially spare the Blue Jays' bullpen, and he was rewarded with the victory. Richards has a 3.29 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 26:13 K:BB over 27.1 innings this season. If Manoah is forced to miss time, it's unlikely Richards steps into the rotation, as he hasn't regularly seen work as a starter since 2019.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Impressive start to season
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Richards walked two and struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief during Sunday's loss to the Yankees.
The 30-year-old right-hander has come up big for the Blue Jays bullpen in the early going while Jordan Romano (elbow) and Erik Swanson (forearm) have been on the shelf. Richards has appeared in six of Toronto's first 10 games, posting a 0.00 ERA and 8:3 K:BB over 5.2 innings while giving up only two hits -- although he did allow an inherited runner to score on a wild pitch Sunday. He hasn't seen a lot of high-leverage usage and only has one hold so far, but Richards' ability to work longer outings and collect bulk strikeouts with solid ratios gives him some fantasy value in deep AL-only formats.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Still sharpening command
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Richards allowed one run on two hits and a walk over 1.2 innings of relief during Wednesday's Grapefruit League game against the Pirates. He struck out two.
The veteran righty has 10 strikeouts in 6.1 innings this spring, but he's also issued five free passes as he tries to iron out the kinks before Opening Day. Richards' ability to rack up bulk Ks via his elite changeup, and his flexible role in the Blue Jays bullpen, keep him on the fantasy radar in deeper formats -- over 72.2 innings in 2023 he collected 105 strikeouts, two wins and a career-high 11 holds, but they came with a 4.95 ERA and 1.35 WHIP.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Gets $2.15 million
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Richards agreed to a one-year, $2.15 million deal with the Blue Jays on Thursday, avoiding arbitration, Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca reports.
The 30-year-old swing man has made three or more starts in five of his six MLB seasons but he has not logged more than 75 innings since he threw 135.1 frames in 2019. Richards had a 4.95 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 105 strikeouts in 72.2 innings last year.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Returns from 15-day IL
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Toronto activated Richards (neck) from the 15-day injured list Friday.
Richards missed the minimum 15 days because of neck inflammation. He'll return to the Blue Jays' bullpen Friday night against the Reds, holding a strong 2.98 ERA with 83 strikeouts through 54.1 innings this year.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Starts rehab assignment
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Richards (neck) began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Tuesday.
Richards' first rehab appearance was postponed as Buffalo was rained out, but the right-hander is game-ready after missing the previous two weeks with neck inflammation. Assuming he gets into Wednesday's game, it's possible that's the only appearance he'll need before rejoining the Blue Jays' bullpen.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Throws bullpen session
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Richards (neck) threw a successful bullpen session Friday, Kaitlyn McGrath of The Athletic reports.
Richards appears on track to return from the 15-day injured list when first eligible next weekend. The 30-year-old right-hander had registered a 2.98 ERA and 83 strikeouts through 54.1 innings this season with the Blue Jays before he went on the shelf Aug. 3 due to neck inflammation.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Lands on IL with sore neck
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Richards was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday, retroactive to August 2, with neck inflammation.
It doesn't sound like an overly serious issue, but Richards will be missed in the Toronto bullpen as he spends at least the next two weeks on the shelf. The 30-year-old right-hander has posted a sharp 2.98 ERA with 83 strikeouts through 54.1 innings of work this season for the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Dominant as opener Wednesday
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Richards didn't factor into the decision in Wednesday's 6-1 win over the Giants, allowing one hit and one walk over three scoreless innings while striking out five.
The right-hander's changeup was devastating, and Richards generated 10 swinging strikes in the first inning alone -- becoming only the fourth pitcher this season to rack up double-digit whiffs in a single frame and joining Hunter Greene (hip), Andrew Heaney and MacKenzie Gore in that club. Richards continues to give the Jays some impressive outings as the front end of a tandem, posting a 3.07 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 21:5 K:BB through 14.2 innings in June, but the role puts a cap on his fantasy value as it makes it virtually impossible for him to record a win. Until the front office finds more permanent options to fill the holes in the team's rotation though, the 30-year-old should continue to be deployed as an opener.
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Blue Jays' Trevor Richards: Hit with first loss
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Richards (0-1) took the loss Saturday as the Blue Jays fell 4-2 to the Rangers, giving up three runs on three hits and a walk over three innings. He struck out two.
Toronto has gone with something of a tandem approach to filling the hole in its rotation, and for the second straight appearance Richards started and went three innings before giving way to the rest of the bullpen. Unlike his last outing June 10, when he fanned seven Twins over three shutout frames, the right-hander had far less success this time around, tossing 36 of 65 pitches for strikes and serving up back-to-back homers to Josh Jung and Jonah Heim in the second inning. Until Alek Manoah turns things around or Hyun Jin Ryu (elbow) is ready to return, the Jays will likely continue patching together their fifth starter spot, and Richards should remain a big part of that plan. On the season, he sports a 3.82 ERA and 51:15 K:BB through 33 innings.
