The twins struggled to walk Simeon Woods Richardson in the bullpen at least this turn around, per Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune. Left hand Kendry Rojaswell thought out prospect that Minnesota got last year Louis Varland trade with the Jays, he will take his place and start tonight against the Astros.
It’s not really a complete rotation change. Rojas takes the ball in what could be a bullpen game. Woods Richardson may enter the competition in some sort of relief role. However, the 25-year-old has struggled as a member of Minnesota’s starting staff this year. Woods Richardson has started nine games but is tagged with a struggling 7.71 ERA. He’s done because of extreme home run vulnerability (1.93 HR/9) and the lowest strikeout rate of any pitcher who has thrown at least 20 innings this year (10.1%).
Woods Richardson is a former second-round pick and potential player who arrived in Minnesota alongside the left tackle. Austin Martin back in 2021 José Berríos trade with the Blue Jays. From 2024-25, he was a solid back-to-back starter, taking the ball 51 times (all but one of which was a start) and posting a 4.11 ERA with a 21.5% strikeout rate and a 9% walk rate.
Woods Richardson hasn’t seen a huge drop in velocity, but his heater has dropped more than half a mile per hour, from last year’s 93.2 mph to a 92.6 mph average this season. He’s gone from a curveball that didn’t work as well and switched from a standard changeup to a hard-hitting swing that hasn’t produced the kind of results he or the team was hoping for.
If the Twins had known, they probably would have drafted Woods Richardson by now in hopes of getting him on track. He’s out of the minor league programs, so the solution isn’t that straightforward. Minnesota doesn’t really want to get rid of a well-regarded guy who has given them 50 points since 2024-2025 and has four more seasons in control of the club.
Whether this is a full-time role change or a temporary break to get him more work in the lower ranks, a move to the ‘pen has seemed inevitable for some time now. It’s hard not to wonder what Woods Richardson’s arsenal might look like in short relief, though, especially since the Twins’ bullpen has been an unmitigated nightmare. Many pitchers see their velocity increase when they stop starting to pitch and go to one inning, high-effort outing. Woods Richardson sat 93.2 mph last year and got solid results on his slider in both 2024 (opponents hit .214 and slugged .313) and 2025 (.214, .378). Hitting that velo in the mid-90s and focusing more on that slide can produce better results.
Whatever shape is needed in the short term, Rojas’s calculations to have a clear way of evaluating the area of circulation in the long term. The Twins reluctantly parted ways with hometown (and hometown) Varland last year because they were so impressed with Rojas’ skills in the rotation. The 6’2″, 190-pound southpaw has a 2.20 ERA in 16 1/3 minor league frames this season and has allowed two runs in his first 7 1/3 MLB frames out of the bullpen. Rojas walked as many batters as he struck out (eight), which isn’t very encouraging, but he’s 23 years old in his first taste of major league action. Rojas walked 5.3% of his opponents in the minors and has typically been between 9-10% in most other seasons, so there’s no reason to expect this kind of woes with a large sample size.
Rojas has hit 96 mph with his four-seamer in the majors and 97 mph in Triple-A this year. He’ll mix in the sink occasionally, but his contributions to the secondary are a slider and a changeup both thrown in the upper 80s. He’s the 10th consensus prospect in an above-average Twins program that was bolstered by last summer’s fire sale and will get another boost this summer with the No. 1 overall draft pick. 3. Rojas joins Hello Bradley, Mick Abel, Connor Prielipp, Zebby Matthews and a top-100 prospect Dasan Hill in a group of young arms that the Twins hope to build the next core of their rotation.
While Woods Richardson has struggled on the mound, Minnesota is facing a similar sticking point with a struggling third baseman. Royce Lewis. 2017 overall pick No. 1 seemed destined for the spotlight when he started 2022-23 with a .307/.364/.549 slash and 17 homers in his first 70 MLB games (280 plate appearances). On top of that performance, Lewis moved into the four-player club lead in 26 plate appearances during Minnesota’s 2023 season. The sky seemed to be the limit.
However, the injury took its toll. Lewis has torn the ACL in his right knee twice. He also had three concussions/tears in his left hamstring, a quad strain in his right leg and (earlier this year) a sprain in his left knee. That’s probably a bit of an injury-riddled career, but Lewis got it all before he turned 27 (he’ll be June 5).
In 31 games and 119 plate appearances this season, Lewis is hitting just .163/.261/.279. Strikeouts haven’t been an issue for him in the past — he posted a 21% strikeout rate from 2022-25 — but he’s been successful in 31.1% of his plate appearances this season. Lewis’ 32.8% strikeout rate isn’t much higher than his 31.4% career mark, but it’s north of the 28.2% mark he posted during that potential 2022-23 season. Meanwhile, his contact rate on infield pitches dropped from 83.7% entering the year to 78.3%. His contact rate at the plate has dropped, dropping from 59.1% in 2022-25 to just 44% this season.
Dan Hayes of The Athletic spoke with Twins captain Derek Shelton, who expressed his admiration for Lewis’ work ethic and the great effort he made to break out of the rut. That only goes so far, however, and soon the Twins will need to see tangible benefits or consider a similar reduction Matt Wallneroptioned to Triple-A last week after two-plus years on the big league roster. Hayes tour list Orlando Arcia and a top-100 prospect Kaelen Culpepper as potential replacement options for Lewis. Both will need to be added to the 40-man roster. Culpepper is a shortstop but could play third base in the majors or maybe push Brooks Lee hot corner. Arcia doesn’t have a great record but is hitting .318/.376/.556 with eight homers in St. Louis.
Lewis is controllable through the 2028 season. He made $2.85MM this season after avoiding arbitration in the winter. He still has a minor league option left for years.
