The A’s will play out the remainder of the 2023 campaign without left-hander Richard Lovelady. MLB.com relays manager Mark Kotsay’s comments to reporters yesterday, which indicated that Lovelady would not return in 2023. MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos adds that while Kotsay did not have the full details of Lovelady’s visit with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, though the club’s medical staff noted that Lovelady is dealing with a strain of the pronator muscle in his left forearm. Lovelady had previously been placed on the 15-day injured list earlier this month with a left forearm strain. No timetable for Lovelady’s return was provided, leaving it unclear as to whether the lefty will be ready for Spring Training next year.
Lovelady made his debut with the Royals back in 2019 and spent parts of three seasons in the club’s bullpen. He struggled badly to a 7.71 ERA in 21 innings of work between 2019 and 2020, though in 2021 he began to look like a valuable relief option with a 3.48 ERA, 3.85 FIP, and a 27.4% strikeout rate against a walk rate of just 7.1%. Unfortunately for the lefty, he would require Tommy John surgery near the end of the 2021 campaign and missed the entire 2022 season while rehabbing.
The Royals moved on from Lovelady prior to the 2023 season by shipping him to Atlanta in a cash deal on Opening Day. Lovelady struggled at the start of the season with the Braves, giving up four runs in five innings of work while striking out just 18.2% of batters faced. The Braves then attempted to pass Lovelady through waivers in mid-April, prompting Oakland to swoop in and claim the southpaw. In 23 1/3 innings of work with the A’s this year, Lovelady posted a slightly below average 4.63 ERA with a 4.58 FIP, though he struck out 25% of batters faced. Those undesirable run prevention numbers were primarily due to an elevated 10.4% walk rate and an unusually low 63% strand rate.
Going forward, the A’s seem poised to rely on Sam Moll and Sam Long as their primary left-handed options out of the bullpen. Kirby Snead is also on the 40-man roster, while Garrett Williams and the newly-acquired Easton Lucas are both additional lefty options available to the Oakland relief corps as they look to finish out the remainder of the 2023 campaign without Lovelady, who the A’s control through the end of the 2027 campaign.
The hottest last name in baseball… gone for the season
first and last name…Dick Lovelady! His parents had a great sense of humor lol
We all know what got strained.
Like the crippled lizard, he’s got a reptile dysfunction.
Stand-up guy who plays with a lot of spunk. Hard-nosed guy that can really shove!
No love lost there.
Lay Lady Law,
Lay across your big brass bed
Gaylord Lovelady, a true two-way superstar.
He loved ladies a little too much.
The fact this pitcher is visiting a surgeon that does a lot of Tommy John surgery is not a good sign.
He will now have the time to rekindle his romance with…………………………………..
Patty LOVELESS !!
Once again the A’s pitching staff is struck by the arm injury bug. Every year same thing a few players out for the season.
Once again the Toronto Maple Leafs’ pitching staff is struck by the arm injury bug. Every year same thing a few players out for the season.
You sure about that? 😉
Tommy John surgery is not limited to baseball players. As many of you may recall, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback blew out his arm in a playoff game against the Eagles in January. That quarterback required Tommy John surgery the following week.
No, he didn’t.
espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/37709325/brock-purdy-surge…
It says it in your link “UCL – elbow repair.“ That is Tommy John surgery.
I believe it’s known as “humor”, as in “the poster lacks a sense of”
Luca,
The article clearly states that he had UCL brace repair surgery NOT Tommy John surgery.
Purdy became the third professional quarterback to have the UCL repair with InternalBrace, joining ex-49er Nick Mullens, now with the Vikings, and Clayton Thorson, a fifth-round pick of the Eagles in 2019.
Tommy John should be in the HOF.
Dr. Frank Jobe was inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
“The repair requires no tendon graft to completely reconstruct the ligament — making it less complex than the traditional UCL reconstruction, commonly known as Tommy John surgery.”
Tommy John is a much more invasive surgery than what he had. It explains it all in the article and that’s why his recovery time is expected to be much shorter. He did not have Tommy John Surgery.