It wasn’t that long ago when Trevor Richards was one of the most trusted arms out of the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen. The veteran right-handed was picked up in a July 2021 trade when the Blue Jays sent Rowdy Tellez to the Milwaukee Brewers for Richards and Bowden Francis.
Richards would go on to pitch in 195 games for the Blue Jays between 2021-2024 which included starting nine games, finishing 25 more, never earning a save, but being relied upon to be “mister everything” that they needed out of him when called upon.
But the Philadelphia Phillies didn’t get to see that side of him in his first appearance with the club on Thursday (Apr. 30). Called up to the big league roster to help out the team in their double header against the San Francisco Giants, Richards came into the game and right away, gave up the lead.
With one on and nobody out in the sixth, Richards got Eric Hasse to strikeout, but that was followed by a Drew Gilbert double that got Jung Hoo Lee over to third, who had walked to lead off the inning. Heliot Ramos struck out and Richards had a chance to get out of the inning with his Phillies still ahead 4-2.
But Richards walked his former Blue Jays’ teammate Matt Chapman to load the bases and then Luis Arraez singled on a line drive to right field that scored both Lee and Gilbert to tie the game. Richards then got Casey Schmitt to pop up to end the inning. Richards then went back out and had a clean seventh inning, and also got the next two hitters out that he faced in the top of the 8th before being replaced by Brad Keller.
Richards hasn’t been the same pitcher since leaving the Blue Jays
Not the worst debut, but it certainly could have gone better for the 32-year-old who was making his first pitching appearance in the big leagues since July 23, 2025. During that season, Richards spent most of the year in the minor leagues, pitching in three games for the Kansas City Royals in June, followed by a two game stint with the Arizona Diamondbacks in July.
Richards signed a minor league contract with the Phillies in the offseason and has spent the first month of the year with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He’s put together positive results in the nine games he’s pitched in. With 14 innings under his belt, Richards has a 1.93 ERA and 26 strikeouts.
That’s often been Richards’ calling card. While he was going to give up his fair share of hits and walks, considering his career 1.34 WHIP – he has also maintained a relatively high strikeout rate. His career number stands at 9.8 SO/9. In 2023 with the Blue Jays he racked up 105 K’s in 72.2 innings. The year before he had 82 in 64 innings. But he stopped generating those high strikeout numbers following the ’23 season at the MLB level, leading to him struggling to maintain a job in the big leagues.
At the 2024 trade deadline, the Blue Jays were below .500 and on their way to a forgettable, losing season. So they started trying to recoup as many assets as they could, shipping Richards to the Minnesota Twins for INF/OF Jay Harry. The 23-year-old began the year with Double-A New Hampshire and through 14 games with the Fisher Cats, Harry is hitting .357/.400/.452.
Throwing 2.1 innings, with three strikeouts isn’t the worst debut and the Phillies ended up with a 6-5 win in ten innings. But for a Phillies team that has struggled out of the gate, they are going to be looking for guys who can truly elevate their roster at this point.
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