MN Twins DFA Struggling Starter Amid Serious Depth Concerns

The Minnesota Twins will attempt to snap a three game losing streak Saturday in Pittsburgh — a skid that has zapped a lot of the good vibes from last week, when they briefly reached .500 and were stacking enough victories to see their their playoff odds over at Fangraphs surge to 36% (May 25).

As of this morning, those odds are down to 24.5%. But at some point, this Twins roster — which started the season paper thin in the first place — can only take on so many injuries before it collapses.

And recently, the loss of Byron Buxton defensively and Ryan Jeffers to the injured list is putting stress on the 26-man roster that it just isn’t built to handle. How bad is it?

Well, Cody Clemens made his MLB debut in center field on Friday because manager Derek Shelton has no faith in his other CF options (like James Outman), and your guess is as good as mine as to who their bottom two starting pitchers are.

On Wednesday, Connor Prielipp gave up 6 hits and 3 walks in 4.1 innings pitched, resulting in 6 earned runs allowed (5 Ks). He’s now allowed 11 earned runs in his last two starts, after give up just four total earned runs in his three starts prior.

Simeon Woods Richardson DFA’d after riding starter struggle bus

Then Thursday, Simeon Woods Richardson was forced into a spot, when recently-recalled (LHP) Kendry Rojas was scratched with an elbow injury that later landed him on the IL. The results that night was 5 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks (4 Ks) in 2.2 SWR innings… and a Saturday DFA.

#MNTwins designated Simeon Woods Richardson for assignment. John Klein has been recalled.

— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) May 30, 2026

Before his disaster start this week, Woods Richardson was in the middle of a change to the bullpen, where he made two appearances and looked really good (3 IP, 0.00 ERA). Unfortunately, after Rojas’ injury, the Minnesota Twins need him to stay stretched out like a starter.

That’s a problem for the 25-year-old right-hander, whose ERA and WHIP have ballooned to 7.74 and 1.888, respectively, following his latest failed start. SWR — who has pitched 47.2 innings this season and 302.1 innings during the course of his career — has now tanked his 2026 bWAR to a brutal -1.4.

Dancing around trouble all day, Simeon Woods Richardson gets burned… pic.twitter.com/iHz4bo6Sqd

— Ted (@tlschwerz) May 28, 2026

Minnesota has remained afloat this season because it’s been able to take advantage of veteran players who have outperformed their career averages (Ryan Jeffers, Trevor Larnach and Bailey Ober) so far, along with some younger guys (Brooks Lee, Austin Martin) who have taken a step forward in their development.

SWR done hurting Twins; John Klein next up…

However, others (like SWR, Luke Keaschall, Josh Bell, Matt Wallner) have underperformed in spots where the Twins just could not afford to have players fall short of expectations. Still, it’s surprising to see such a drastic move as designating SWR for assignment, which will allow other teams to claim him off waivers.

But in the starting rotation especially, after Pablo Lopez, Mick Abel and David Festa hit the injured list, Shelton needed Simeon Woods Richardson to step up and pitch better than he has anytime in his young career. He didn’t rise to the challenge. So now he’s out of the big leagues.

Related: Why MN Twins Fans Should Want MLB Salary Cap/Floor

John Klein, 24, has been a starter for most of his professional pitching career. He will replace SWR on the MN Twins’ active roster. Klein has appeared twice this season for the Twins (2.1 IP, 7.71 ERA), but he has yet to make a big league start.

I’d imagine that changes later this week. At St. Paul this season, the Iowa Central Community College alum has made 9 starts and the results haven’t been pretty, allowing 11 homers and 23 earned runs (6.09 ERA) in 34 innings.

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