Twins' Rotation Crunch Forces Woods Richardson Into the Margins

Taj Bradley is one rehabilitation start away from rejoining the Twins' rotation, and that imminent return has crystallized a problem Minnesota can no longer defer: Simeon Woods Richardson is losing ground to younger alternatives and running out of runway to keep his starting gig.

The Twins held the same five starters steady through late April before injuries and performance forced wholesale turnover. Bradley's return from right pectoral inflammation—expected this weekend in Triple-A—arrives at precisely the wrong time for Woods Richardson. The right-hander isn't even scheduled for Monday's turn against Houston; Minnesota listed the starter as TBA. Meanwhile, Zebby Matthews has been called upon twice in the past week and delivered a career-best performance Thursday. Rookie Connor Prielipp has also outpaced Woods Richardson in recent outings. The mathematical reality is simple: Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober, and Bradley represent the non-negotiable core. Two remaining spots. Three candidates competing, with Woods Richardson the weakest piece.

Woods Richardson's situation is compounded by his lack of minor-league options. He cannot be demoted to Triple-A without exposing him to waivers—a move carrying real risk of losing him off the roster entirely. The Twins' likeliest path is converting him to relief, a transition that would acknowledge his value in lower-leverage innings while clearing rotation space for the performers actually executing at the major-league level right now. That decision can wait through Bradley's rehab start and Thursday's scheduled off-day, but the window closes after that. Minnesota begins a three-city road trip Friday.

For bettors tracking Twins pitching matchups, this fluidity introduces meaningful opacity in rotation construction over the next 10 days. Matthews has shown legitimate stuff—Thursday's start was not a fluke sparking from a cushy opponent matchup—and his inclusion as a legitimate rotation option rather than a depth fill-in reshapes expected ERA curves across these games. If Woods Richardson does shift to the bullpen, removing a starter with a sub-4.00 ERA from standard nine-inning contexts and replacing him with fresh-arm rotation depth (whether Matthews or Bradley ramping back up) could steepen team totals. Conversely, if the Twins defer the decision and keep running a patchwork rotation for another week, the inefficiency in starter quality may drag down run-production reliability.