Headlines

  • Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib
  • Reds Release Jeimer Candelario
  • Dave Parker Passes Away
  • Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles
  • Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline
  • Griffin Canning Believed To Have Suffered Achilles Injury
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

Remove Ads
  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2025 Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Royals’ Richard Lovelady Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

By Steve Adams | September 30, 2021 at 8:00am CDT

Royals left-hander Richard Lovelady announced late last night on Instagram that he underwent Tommy John surgery this week. It’s not entirely out of the blue, as the 26-year-old southpaw was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in late August.

Tommy John surgery will quite likely wipe out the entirety of the 2022 season for Lovelady, as most pitchers require more than a year of rehab work. The Cardinals’ Dakota Hudson is one recent exception, but even he returned just four days shy of his operation’s one-year anniversary. It’s technically possible that Lovelady could be ready late next September, but precedent very strongly suggests Spring Training 2023 is a likelier target date.

Losing Lovelady for a full year’s time is a notable hit to Kansas City’s bullpen outlook next season. Long rated as one of the organization’s most promising relief prospects, Lovelady has dominated in the minors and, in 2021, had begun to carry that success over to the big leagues. While Lovelady struggled in 21 MLB frames from 2019-20, he pitched to a 3.48 ERA with strong strikeout (27.1), walk  (7.1) and ground-ball (56.6) percentages in 20 2/3 innings this year. Combine that success with a career 2.12 ERA in the minor leagues, including a 2.51 mark in 107 1/3 Triple-A frames, and it’s easy to see why the organization is increasingly bullish on the lefty’s future.

The recent injury surely doesn’t change the Royals’ view that Lovelady can be a big part of their pitching staff down the road, but the wait for him to cement himself as such will now be further prolonged. That said, the Royals still control Lovelady all the way through the 2026 season, so even if he’s not back on a big league mound until 2023, they could still enjoy four full seasons of the talented lefty before he’s eligible to test the free-agent market. He’ll accrue a year of service time and big league pay next year on the 60-day injured list due to the fact that the injury occurred while he was pitching on the big league roster.

Looking ahead to the 2022 campaign, the Royals will lean heavily on the late-inning duo of Scott Barlow and Josh Staumont to close things down, while lefty Jake Brentz and righty Domingo Tapia have quite likely punched their tickets for a spot on the big league staff as well. Bullpen help, however, already figured to be a priority for the Kansas City front office this winter. Losing one of the team’s more promising arms for the majority or entirety of next season only makes that an even likelier area of focus for newly promoted president of baseball operations Dayton Moore, general manager J.J. Piccolo and the rest of the Royals’ baseball ops department.

Share 0 Retweet 9 Send via email0

Kansas City Royals Richard Lovelady

Front Office Notes: Padres, Rangers, Phillies, Royals
Main
Pineda, Baldelli Voice Interest In Reunion
View Comments (24)
Post a Comment

24 Comments

  1. Fever Pitch Guy

    4 years ago

    Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

    8
    Reply
  2. TLB2001

    4 years ago

    I don’t know that I would say it’s a “huge” hit to the bullpen. Obviously sucks but it’s a crowded bullpen picture even without him next year, if was far from a guarantee that a healthy Lovelady is pitching high leverage innings in 2022.

    Reply
    • TLB2001

      4 years ago

      Ok I see now it says notable. Either it was edited or I can’t read. I think that’s fair. Disregard the above.

      Reply
      • Steve Adams

        4 years ago

        I had “notable” from the get-go, ha, but no worries. Blame it on insufficient coffee intake in the still (relatively) early morning!

        4
        Reply
        • tstats

          4 years ago

          Steve, you’re amazing you know that right?

          3
          Reply
  3. Metsin777

    4 years ago

    If your gonna have the last name Lovelady, having the firstname Dick isn’t the smartest idea….

    7
    Reply
    • baseballpun

      4 years ago

      Counterpoint: It’s the best idea.

      19
      Reply
    • AHH-Rox

      4 years ago

      Would be a better story if his surgery was a debridement procedure.

      1
      Reply
    • hiflew

      4 years ago

      You’re right. Richard can be changed to several other nicknames which are not as funny. Smarter ideas would be Peter or Rod.

      Reply
    • SonnySteele

      4 years ago

      He should be in the same bullpen with Janson Junk.

      Reply
  4. retire21

    4 years ago

    Cots and wares for a needy skullduggery.

    Reply
    • riffraff

      4 years ago

      trying too hard

      11
      Reply
      • retire21

        4 years ago

        Brauts and cares for a weedy Montgomery?

        Reply
  5. Cohn Joppolella

    4 years ago

    Just stopping by to read some jokes about his name.

    10
    Reply
  6. Chief Two Hands

    4 years ago

    I think any man named “Lovelady” is doomed at birth.

    Reply
    • For Love of the Game

      4 years ago

      Why? I wouldn’t be surprised if women found his name charming. That and being a pro athlete might be good for his romantic life.

      1
      Reply
    • LordD99

      4 years ago

      …or, blessed?!

      Reply
  7. Orel Saxhiser

    4 years ago

    This story makes me want to listen to Lou Rawls.

    1
    Reply
    • For Love of the Game

      4 years ago

      I have a number of his songs on my phone. That smooth voice!

      Reply
      • Orel Saxhiser

        4 years ago

        “Lady luvvvv…”

        Reply
  8. mjpeez

    4 years ago

    Came here for the dick jokes

    1
    Reply
    • Orel Saxhiser

      4 years ago

      Welcome aboard, Mr. Callaway.

      2
      Reply
  9. sergefunction

    4 years ago

    Lord, love a Lovelady…

    Reply
  10. Dadbodfromseattle

    4 years ago

    I was happy when the Ms got tapia. I liked his stuff then we got rid of him after 2 innings. I knew it was a huge mistake now he’s balling out in kcmo. Ugh. U could create a all star team if former ms

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Reds Release Jeimer Candelario

    Dave Parker Passes Away

    Griffin Canning Diagnosed With Ruptured Achilles

    Pirates Reportedly Have Very Few Untouchable Players At Trade Deadline

    Griffin Canning Believed To Have Suffered Achilles Injury

    Mariners Looking For Corner Infield Bats; Ownership Willing To Bump Payroll

    Wander Franco Found Guilty Of Sexual Abuse

    Mariners Place Rowdy Tellez On Release Waivers

    Max Meyer To Undergo Season-Ending Hip Surgery

    Whit Merrifield Announces Retirement

    White Sox Sign Noah Syndergaard To Minor League Deal

    Corbin Carroll Placed On IL With Wrist Fracture

    Hoops Rumors Has The Latest On NBA Draft, Free Agency

    Mets Option Francisco Alvarez

    Reds To Promote Chase Burns For MLB Debut

    A.J. Puk Undergoes Elbow Surgery; Gabriel Moreno Diagnosed With Fractured Finger

    Braves To Select Didier Fuentes

    Anthopoulos On Trading Chris Sale: “Will Not Happen”

    Rays Owner Stuart Sternberg In “Advanced” Talks To Sell Team

    Recent

    Yankees Select Geoff Hartlieb, Place Fernando Cruz On 15-Day IL

    Trade Deadline Outlook: Chicago White Sox

    Trade Rumors Front Office Subscriber Chat Today At 3:30pm CT

    Padres Designate Logan Gillaspie For Assignment

    Phillies Reinstate Bryce Harper, Designate Buddy Kennedy For Assignment

    Athletics Select Colby Thomas

    Astros Place Jeremy Peña On Injured List With Fractured Rib

    Submit Your Questions For This Week’s Episode Of The MLBTR Podcast

    Poll: Should The Pirates Trade Mitch Keller?

    The Opener: Brown, Waldron, Schmitt

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Sandy Alcantara Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Alex Bregman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android App Store Google Play

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • Trade Deadline Outlook Series
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • Contract Tracker
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • RSS/Twitter Feeds By Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version