Mariners sign former top prospect to minors deal

The Seattle Mariners signed right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson to a minor-league contract on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old was assigned to Triple-A Tacoma.

Andrés Muñoz’s changeup has been untouchable

Woods Richardson is a former top prospect who was ranked in MLB Pipeline’s top 100 during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He made his major league debut at 22 years old for the Minnesota Twins in 2022.

In parts of five seasons for the Twins and Toronto Blue Jays, Woods Richardson has a career 14-17 record, 4.72 ERA and 1.39 WHIP with 272 strikeouts to 136 walks over 320 2/3 innings in 73 appearances (61 starts). He shut down the Mariners both times he faced them, tossing 11 shutout innings with 14 strikeouts over two starts (one in 2024 and one in 2025).

Woods Richardson, a second-round pick in 2018, struggled through the first two months of this season with Minnesota. In 12 outings (10 starts) for the Twins, he had an 0-7 record and 7.74 ERA with nearly as many walks (25) as strikeouts (26) over 47 2/3 innings.

Minnesota traded the right-hander to Toronto for cash on June 3. He was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on Aug. 28 and elected free agency Tuesday after being outrighted to the minors. In eight relief appearances with Toronto, Woods Richardson had a 3.93 ERA with 14 strikeouts to 12 walks over 18 1/3 innings.

Woods Richardson features a four-pitch mix with a four-seam fastball, splitter, slider and curveball. His fastball averages 92.6 mph.

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