Richards could open the season as part of the Marlins' starting rotation, Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.
Nothing has been announced yet, but injuries and the Marlins' lack of viable major-league options have left the door open for Richards to claim one of the team's final rotation spots out of camp. The 24-year-old has made as strong case for himself in spring training, accruing a 0.75 ERA and 1.17 WHIP across 12 innings of work, albeit with a mediocre 9:5 K:BB. Richards has never pitched above Double-A, however, so it remains to be seen what the team will do with him at this point. He has yet to register an ERA north of 4.00 in his three professional seasons, though he could prove overmatched at the major-league level if he does break camp with the big club.