Minnesota Twins Pitcher Underwent Scary Surgery

The Minnesota Twins have been routinely utilizing bullpen games for weeks now. Pablo Lopez has been injured for months, and David Festa has been out as well. Simeon Woods Richardson was the latest starter to join them.

Losing three-fifths of your starting rotation, and then trading Chris Paddack, leaves Rocco Baldelli in quite a predicament. Someone still has to take the ball to start the game.

We knew what was wrong with Lopez and Festa immediately. That isn’t the case with Woods Richardson.

Illness turns nightmarish for Simeon Woods Richardson

On August 4th the Minnesota Twins placed Simeon Woods Richardson on the injured list. They gave no designation on the original announcement, and the transaction log simply listed “illness.”

We have made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/Af4Fi4cQVi

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 4, 2025

The move was retroactive to August 1st, but Woods Richardson last pitched for the team on July 28th. He worked 4 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on seven hits. It was a pretty standard outing for what we have come to expect this season.

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What followed has not been. Not only does no designation do a lacking amount of justice to the situation, but “illness” doesn’t begin to describe it either. No, Woods Richardson is not in WITSEC despite a lack of updates for more than two weeks. Instead he underwent surgery for a stomach parasite and lost a bunch of weight.

Buried into an article about first round pick Marek Houston, Phil Miller revealed the actual malady.

Simeon Woods Richardson’s “stomach issue” that wound up landing him on the 15-day injured list was a parasite, the righthander said Friday, perhaps introduced into his body by a seafood meal. He underwent a procedure to remove the organism from his digestive tract earlier this week, and said he feels fine now. Baldelli said Woods Richardson, who lost weight while battling the illness, will likely need some time on a rehab assignment to regain his strength before rejoining the rotation.

Star Tribune

That’s a pretty aggressive outcome to eating something from the water. Minnesota was home against the Boston Red Sox for Woods Richardson’s last start. They then went on a road trip to Cleveland and Detroit. Neither is located by an ideal body of water for seafood, so presumably something could have happened at a second-rate establishment.

When can SWR rejoin the MN Twins?

Despite not pitching since the 28th of July, Woods Richardson’s 15-day injured list assignment won’t end until August 15th. It’s unlikely he returns when first eligible though. The lack of throwing and weight loss almost certainly means he’ll need a turn or two with the St. Paul Saints.

An update provided by “X” (formerly Twitter) user @TCJ_612 suggests that Woods Richardson is working behind the scenes on a return.

My son is Twins camp and they were at TF today. SWR was working out in center field and throwing in the bullpen.

— TC (@TJC_612) August 14, 2025

There are just a couple of weeks left in August. Woods Richardson is probably more likely looking at a September return. He could factor into the plans for Baldelli alongside acquired arms like Taj Bradley and Mick Abel.

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When he does get back to the mound, he’ll work on his 4.24 ERA (4.71 FIP) across 80 2/3 innings. After a tough start to the season, and a demotion, Woods Richardson owns a 2.58 ERA (4.31 FIP) across his last 12 games (11 starts 38 1/3 innings).