The Blue Jays announced this morning that they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Mason Fluharty. Fellow southpaw Richard Lovelady was designated for assignment to make room for Fluharty on both the 40-man and active rosters. In addition, the Blue Jays announced that right-hander Tommy Nance has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A.
Lovelady, 29, was a tenth-round pick by Kansas City back in 2016. He made his big league debut with the club during the 2019 season 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, but 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.
He wouldn’t get the chance to return to the mound in Kansas City, as he was dealt to Atlanta just before the 2023 campaign began. That stay was very brief, however, as he made just five appearance at Triple-A before being plucked off waivers by Oakland. He posted middling numbers in 23 1/3 innings of work for the A’s, with a 4.63 ERA and 4.54 FIP across 27 appearances before being shut down due to a forearm strain. Lovelady was eventually outrighted off the club’s roster and elected free agency, at which point he signed a minor league deal with the Cubs.
Lovelady’s time in Chicago was brief, as he posted just 5 2/3 innings of work and was shelled to the tune of a 7.94 ERA during that limited time. He was DFA’d in May of last year and shipped to the Rays shortly thereafter before enjoying a successful season in Tampa. Across 28 2/3 innings the rest of the way, Lovelady posted a solid 3.77 ERA with a 3.83 FIP. That didn’t stop the Rays from non-tendering the southpaw back in November, however, which led him to join the Jays on a minor league deal back in January. He made the club’s Opening Day roster but walked two batters and hit another three in 1 2/3 innings before today’s DFA. Going forward, the Jays will have one week to either work out a trade involving the southpaw or place him on waivers.
Lovelady’s departure makes way for Fluharty, whose first appearance will be his big league debut. The Jays’ fifth rounder in 2022, the southpaw posted a decent 3.63 ERA with an excellent 27.4% strikeout rate in 67 innings of work at Triple-A last year. Solid as that performance was, Fluharty really made his case for a big league opportunity during Spring Training with a sterling 1.29 ERA and 11 strikeouts in just seven innings of work during camp. While the southpaw didn’t quite make the club’s initial Opening Day roster, he’s now poised to get the first big league opportunity of his career.
As for Nance, the 34-year-old signed with the Cubs out of indy ball back in 2016 and made his big league debut in 2021. He struggled to a 7.22 ERA in that first cup of coffee, but he’s looked like a solid middle reliever since then with a 4.25 ERA (97 ERA+) and a 3.80 FIP in 65 2/3 innings of work for the Marlins and Blue Jays since the start of the 2022 season. He’s struck out an impressive 26.3% of opponents during that time while walking 10.4%. Nance now figures to remain at Triple-A Buffalo as non-roster depth for the Jays going forward.
Why did they keep him instead of Yarborough?
Atkins said it didn’t make sense to carry to long-men in Yarborough and Rodriguez, as there wouldn’t be enough opportunity for both of them to pitch long relief. But now with Scherzer out, Rodriguez will go to the rotation, and now no long man. Friggin Atkins
And in game three (3) of the season, they lit their bullpen on fire as there was no long man available.
The amount of egg on the faces of Atkins/Shapiro right about now could feed a family of five for a week.
They could probably scrape that off their faces and sell it to their American friends and use the funds to buy a copy of “How to Manage a Major League Roster For Dummies”. Ross could use some on-the-job training.
It’s a shame you can only give one thumbs up. I tried to give you some more.
They’re incredibly incompetent apparently.
Well, you cannot really blame him for an injury. He made a decision and it didn’t work out as planned, but it was a decision that had to be made. Very few GMs would keep two long relievers…just in case. Some don’t even keep one long man.
Except he was going into a season with a starter the team acknowledged wasn’t going to be available all season. They were hoping they’d get 20 starts from Max. They knew they were going to need someone else, and they don’t really have any capable replacement starters.
The one long man they kept (Rodriguez) has yet to prove he can be a capable major league pitcher.
This was a pretty predictable outcome, whether it happened the first week or a month down the road.
If they don’t have any capable major league starters, they need to fire the farm director. The entire AAA rotation and most of the AA rotation SHOULD be capable of starting in the majors tomorrow. They won’t be your first choice, but they should definitely be capable. Otherwise, there is no point in keeping them.
Except one injury, just one! – in the rotation meant they’re cooked. They have no viable arms waiting down on the farm. Yarborough was a perfect fit that way and there was a simple way to protect their backside. They even knew Scherzer was having issues with his thumb… If I were them I’d be calling Turnbull’s or Lynn’s agent now…
Except they wouldn’t be ready to pitch either.
If a guy is able to go long it means he is reliable enough to go short as well. It’s called pitching.
No love for Lovelady…
Letting Yarborough go for a guy you DFA before the end of the opening series is great example of how poorly planned this FO makes decisions.
At least they still have Myles Straw!
Yea it’s inexplicable to carry this guy with such a short leash at the expense of Yarborough. I do think maybe we’re better off without Dick but the FO needs to have a more long term outlook than carrying a guy who you’re ready to DFA after one bad inning.
Didn’t take long for Fluharty to get the call. Looking forward to seeing him make his debut.
Dick Love’s ’em and leaves ’em…
Cue “Careless Whisper”.
Another reason to FIRE the LOUSY GM shapiro and his useless lackie atkins…..
Keep Lovelady over Yarborough ??? WTF !!
Ross Atkins, ladies and gentlemen.
Cashman jumped on Yarbrough quick, probably one of his smartest moves.
A knee-jerk reaction. I suspect this won’t go over well in the clubhouse.
Maybe, but also maybe a wake up call!
I still can’t believe they chose Lovelady over Yarbrough but then again, this is the same front office that thought that Scherzer is still a frontline ace.
Not sure what the Jays saw in this guy. They had Yarborough, which could have been a better option for the team. Lovelady has had control issues his whole career. His K-BB is below average and his SIERA of over 4 screams unsustainable. Jays management and coaching staff is terrible.
Not to mention Yarbrough was pitching in the 90s this spring, way higher than his 86mph fastball from last year, which makes all his other junk that much more effective.
Roger Beshens Football Slider is the solution. Dick didn’t get all the breaks he needed.
Some teams do nothing but complain.
The Bluejays will win nothing with Atlins or Shapiro involved in Baseball decision making. It’s nice to have good evidence over the last 10 years including this nice move.
Drop Yarborough for Lovelady? Really? Yeeesh.
If Dick Lovelady and Rollie Fingers ever walked into a party together, no dude would be safe from having his girl stolen.
I guess you better bring your “A” game because you stunk it up yesterday and now you’re given the boot!
For some reason, instead of calling up Fluharty who looked impressive this spring, they call up another has been named Ellis. I mean, why not call up your best LH relief guy from the minors? I know he is a prospect, but, why not use him? He is like the 27th ranked prospect FFS and looked really good. Sigh
Who is Ellis? I thought they did call up Fluharty?
folks, this here is a baseball organization without a clue
Toronto: Lovelady? We don’t even Likelady.
I’ll never understand why teams still put this guy out there–he is terrible.
Kudos to most Jays fans who recognized the stupidity of dumping Yarb for this guy…I mean, a guy who is a long man can still pitch an inning or two here or there. The two concepts are not mutually-exclusive.
As a Rays fan, I do have a soft spot for Yarb, so maybe I am biased.
I just had a thought that made me realize how much trouble the Jays pen is in. I hope Zach Pop recovers quickly so they can add him back to the 26 man roster.
“Zach Pop is no longer on the Blue Jays’ roster as of March 27, 2025. The Blue Jays designated him for assignment due to elbow inflammation, which had been detected after his final Grapefruit League appearance on March 17, 2025. This move clears a 40-man roster spot for outfielder Alan Roden, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move. If Pop clears waivers, he could end up on Buffalo’s injured list if he remains with the Toronto organization.”
Completely wrong. Dirty Dick Lovelady needs an extension.
Somebody remind me when Yarbrough won a CY Young? The way people cry on the site about the Jays letting him go makes me thing he’s one of the best relief arms in the game. Maybe it was a mistake, maybe not, but the amount of whining that goes on over a 26th man type of guy is wild to me lol
An excerpt from a Sportsnet piece….. “Yarbrough produced MLB’s second-lowest hard-hit rate last season. His average exit velocity allowed has ranked within MLB’s 97th percentile or better six years running. ….So not Cy Young but effective.