Arizona Diamondbacks designate former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher for assignment

Left-hander Brandyn Garcia was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move, and though Garcia was already on the 40-man roster, the DFA may have been necessary since Richards has enough big league service time that he couldn't be optioned to the minors without his consent.

Arizona signed Richards to a minor league contract in June and selected him to the active roster after the All-Star break, with Richards delivering a 3.38 ERA over two appearances and 2 2/3 innings in a D'Backs uniform.

Richards has signed minors deals with the Cubs, Royals, and Diamondbacks since the start of 2025, and those contracts translated into 5 2/3 total innings at the big league level with Arizona and Kansas City.

A veteran of eight Major League seasons, Richards has a 4.53 ERA over 565 2/3 career innings in the Show with seven different teams.

Richards has worked in a variety of roles (starter, reliever, opener, swingman, long man) over his career, while frequently battling some inconsistent control.

Richards had a 31.3% strikeout rate over 201 innings during the 2021-23 seasons, but that number has dropped sharply to a 21.9 K% in 71 big league frames since the start of the 2024 campaign.

Richards has enough of a track record that an interested team might put in a waiver claim.

Given the timing of the DFA, a claim could come after the July 31 trade deadline, if a club needs to fill a hole in the bullpen.

Richards has been outrighted before, so if he clears waivers, he has the right to reject an outright assignment from the Diamondbacks and instead opt for free agency.