The Twins had a set of decisions to make earlier this month on a trio of struggling players, players who had been key contributors in past seasons.

They made their decision on Matt Wallner first, optioning him to Triple-A for a reset. Days later, they decided to do the same with Royce Lewis. It wasn’t quite as easy with Simeon Woods Richardson, who was out of minor league options and couldn’t be sent down without being exposed to waivers. Instead, the Twins shifted him to the bullpen.

Less than two weeks after the bullpen experiment began, the Twins designated Woods Richardson, who first established himself in the majors in 2024, for assignment.

“I think we would’ve liked a longer look (at him) in the bullpen to see because we saw some things that were trending right,” manager Derek Shelton said. “When you have short starts and a bullpen that gets depleted, sometimes there ends up being an odd-man out — and it ended up being Sim.”

Woods Richardson made two scoreless outings out of the bullpen before being pressed into starting duty on Thursday in Chicago an hour before the game when Kendry Rojas was scratched due to injury. He lasted 2 2/3 innings, giving up five runs.

All told, Woods Richardson was 0-7 this season with a 7.74 earned-run average. The Twins were 1-9 in games that he started. The 41 earned runs he had given up in 47 2/3 innings innings are the most among pitchers in the American League, and second-most in the majors this season behind just Rockies starter Michael Lorenzen.

Had Woods Richardson, 25, had an option remaining, it’s likely the Twins would have optioned him to St. Paul to try to work things out there — as they did last year. The results upon his return were much better, and his September was especially promising.

“This is a kid who had some success, especially last year,” Shelton said. “His first couple starts to the year were pretty good. (It’s) just the inconsistency of location; any time when you’re a starting pitcher and you’re not throwing the ball where you want, there is going to be frustration there.”

The move further erodes the starting pitching depth that the Twins had to begin the season. The Twins came to camp with eight pitchers in the mix for five rotation spots. Of those eight, the Twins are now without Pablo López, who is out for the season, David Festa and Mick Abel because of injuries, and now Woods Richardson because of performance.

Rookie John Klein was called up on Saturday to take Woods Richardson’s roster spot and pitch out of the bullpen.

“I’m concerned every day when I wake up, from the time I got the job, about starting pitching,” Shelton said. “The fact we did have the injuries to Pablo and Festa earlier, and the fact that Sim is not here anymore, yeah, there is always concern about where those innings are going to come from.”

Briefly

Shelton said Rojas’s MRI revealed triceps inflammation. The Twins placed him on the injured list on Friday.