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Back in Toronto, Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson come full circle

betsy helfand, pioneer press
·4 min read

TORONTO — Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson insist that this weekend is business as usual as they square off against the organization that traded them as minor leaguers to Minnesota.

But it’s also a full circle moment, of sorts, for the two rookies, who came over together in a deadline-day trade for starter José Berríos in 2021.

These days, Berríos is thriving in Toronto — he has a 2.85 earned-run average and was recently named April’s American League Pitcher of the Month — and Martin and Woods Richardson are establishing themselves as big leaguers.

“We’re really driven and focus on just getting better,” Martin said. “The goal, I would say for both of us, was never just to make it to the big leagues but to be there and be productive players and be able to produce and help this team win games. That’s the most important thing for us, and that’s the same approach we’re going to take coming into this weekend.”

Martin was drafted fifth overall by the Blue Jays in 2020, and Woods Richardson landed in Toronto in 2019 as part of a trade with the New York Mets in which pitcher Marcus Stroman went back to New York.

Though both were highly-regarded prospects at the time of the trade, it wasn’t a given they would both be producing for the Twins by now. Both endured their struggles in the minor leagues, and neither broke camp with Minnesota.

Martin was limited by injuries in each of the past two seasons, and some swing and approach tweaks the Twins made with him in 2022 to try to generate more power led to a dip in his production. A shortstop initially when he was drafted, Martin has settled in as a utilityman, playing mostly the outfield.

Woods Richardson finished last season in Triple-A with an earned-run average near 5.00, but some mechanical changes with his arm slot have helped boost his velocity, and he has stepped admirably into the spot in the rotation previously occupied by Louie Varland.

“They’re both contributing at the major league level. I think they’re both gaining comfort at this level, on this team as guys that are ready to come in and not just be here but produce,” manager Roccco Baldelli said. “To see two guys come over and get them in a trade and then see them here helping us win games and playing important roles, it’s what you’re looking for.”

Coming off the best outing of his career — six scoreless innings of one-hit ball with eight strikeouts — Woods Richardson will start on Saturday in the middle game of the series against Toronto,

He’s viewing it as just a normal game.

“He’ll take some great at-bats,” Woods Richardson of Martin. “I’m going to go out there and execute as best as I can, and the cards will fall where the cards fall.”

Sausage crosses the border

Rest assured, Twins fans: the team’s rally sausage, an enclosed piece of meat that they’ve been toting around for good luck, has gone international.

While there were some concerns that the Twins may not be able to bring into Canada the slab of meat — which they tap in the dugout before at-bats and throw to each other after home runs — the team was able to pass through customs with it.

The sausage even took an excursion on Friday, journeying to the top of the CN Tower, the 10th-tallest freestanding structure in the world, with members of the Twins’ content team.

Twins tease new uniforms

The Twins are one of the few remaining teams in Major League Baseball who have yet to debut their City Connect uniforms.

Now, there’s a date for that — and a little teaser video, too.

The Twins posted a graphic on social media confirming that they will launch their new jerseys on June 10. They will first wear them on June 14 when they play host to the Oakland Athletics.

There’s sound accompanying the graphic they posted with water and bird noises, perhaps suggesting that the jerseys could somehow incorporate lakes and loons.

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