Mets Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment
The Mets announced that Craig Kimbrel‘s minor league contract has been selected to the active roster, as reported earlier today. To create space on the 26-man roster, the Mets have designated left-hander Richard Lovelady.
This is the ninth time Lovelady has been DFA’ed in his career, with five of those transactions coming from the Mets in a relationship that began when New York first signed the lefty to a big league deal last June. Lovelady is out of minor league options, which is why the Mets and other teams have had to first expose him to waivers before outrighting him off a 40-man roster.
During the offseason, the Mets signed Lovelady to a split contract that pays him $1MM when on an active roster, and $350K while in the minor leagues. Lovelady would have to give up this guaranteed salary if he clears waivers and declines an outright assignment in favor of free agency, which makes it more likely that he’ll stick around in the Mets organization. It shouldn’t be assumed that Lovelady will clear waivers, however. The Nationals claimed the southpaw last January after the Mets’ last DFA, but New York then claimed him back in March after the Nats also designated Lovelady for assignment.
After all of these comings and goings, Lovelady made the Amazins’ Opening Day roster and at least got himself a few weeks of time in the bigs. Lovelady has a 3.68 ERA and a 54.5% grounder rate over 7 1/3 innings and six appearances for New York this season, with a modest 18.8% strikeout rate and 12.5% walk rate. Most of the damage (.958 OPS) has come from right-handed batters, while Lovelady has limited left-handed batters to a .545 OPS.
Lovelady’s career splits are pronounced enough that it is worth wondering if he came along in the wrong time — Lovelady made his MLB debut a season before the league instituted the three-batter rule, basically ending the era of the lefty specialist. The Mets clearly like what Lovelady offers as a depth arm for their ever-rotating bullpen, even if the team perpetually views him as an expendable roster piece.
Mets Designate Vidal Bruján, Bryan Hudson, Ben Rortvedt For Assignment
The Mets announced that infielder/outfielder Vidal Bruján, left-hander Bryan Hudson and catcher Ben Rortvedt have been designated for assignment. All three are out of options and had to be bumped off the 40-man roster if not on the active roster. Left-hander Richard Lovelady and infielder/outfielder Jared Young will get Opening Day roster spots, per Mike Puma of The New York Post. Rortvedt always seemed likely to be squeezed out as the third catcher behind Francisco Alvarez and Luis Torrens.
Bruján, 28, was once a prospect of note with the Rays but he has struggled to produce in the majors. That has led to him exhausting his options, therefore pushing him to fringe roster status. He played for the Cubs, Baltimore and Atlanta last year. Over the winter, he rode the transaction carousel some more, going to the Twins via a waiver claim and then the Mets via a small trade. He came into camp and hit .273/.400/.273 in 40 spring plate appearances.
It seemed there was a chance for him to stick on the roster to start the year. The Mets optioned Ronny Mauricio not too long ago, seemingly content to roll into the season with Bo Bichette as the de facto backup to shortstop Francisco Lindor. That would allow the club to keep Mike Tauchman on the bench and prevent him from triggering his opt-out. But then Tauchman suffered a meniscus tear, taking him out of the running for a roster spot.
The Mets have decided to give that spot to Young, which has bumped Bruján into DFA limbo. Back in November, Bruján and Atlanta avoided arbitration by agreeing to a deal that pays him $850K in the majors and $500K in the minors. If the Mets put him on waivers in the coming days and he goes unclaimed, he would have the right to elect free agency since he has at least three years of service time. But since he has less than five years, he would have to walk away from that money in exercising that right, meaning he would most likely decide to stay in the minors with the Mets.
It’s a similar situation for Rortvedt. He and the Dodgers avoided arbitration back in November by agreeing to a contract worth $1.25MM. He then went to the Reds, back to the Dodgers, and then to the Mets via waivers this winter.
For the Mets, they already had Alvarez and Torrens on hand but Rortvedt gave them a fallback plan if one of those two suffered a spring injury. They stayed healthy so Rortvedt stayed in the #3 spot on the depth chart. Since he’s out of options, he has been pushed into DFA limbo today. Like Bruján, Rortvedt would have the right to elect free agency if he clears waivers but probably wouldn’t since he would have to leave his money on the table.
Hudson, 29 in May, gave the Brewers 62 1/3 innings with a 1.73 earned run average in 2024. He struck out 26.8% of batters and limited walks to a 7.4% clip. He got some help from a .148 batting average on balls in play and 94.2% strand rate but his 3.60 FIP and 3.22 were still good marks. But in 2025, he struggled and got sent to the minors, later going to the White Sox via waivers. He finished the season with a 4.80 ERA in 15 innings.
The Sox designated him for assignment in February and flipped him to the Mets for cash. He didn’t have a good spring, allowing six earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. He exhausted his final option season last year and therefore had a tenuous grip on his roster spot. The Mets are going with Lovelady instead, bumping Hudson off the roster.
Unlike Bruján and Rortvedt, Hudson hasn’t qualified for arbitration. He wouldn’t have the right to elect free agency if he clears waivers in the coming days. If some other club does acquire him, he can be retained for five full seasons.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
Mets Claim Richard Lovelady
The Mets announced that left-hander Richard Lovelady has been claimed off waivers from the Nationals. Right-hander Justin Hagenman was placed on New York’s 60-day injured list in the corresponding move, as Hagenman will now miss the first two months of the season recovering from a rib fracture.
It’s a quick return to Queens for Lovelady, who was designated for assignment by the Mets in late January and then claimed by the Nationals. After a little over a month in Washington’s spring camp, Lovelady was DFA’ed again since the Nats needed roster space for the newly-signed Zack Littell.
Lovelady broke into the majors with the Royals in 2019, and he spent his first three big league seasons in Kansas City before a Tommy John surgery cost him the entirety of the 2022 season. Since recovering from his surgery, Lovelady has become a regular on the transactions list, as he has bounced around to multiple clubs in a series of trades, waiver claims, signings and re-signings. Since the start of the 2023 campaign, Lovelady has a 5.19 ERA, 20.7% strikeout rate, and 9.0% walk rate over 69 1/3 innings with five different teams at the Major League level.
This nomadic stretch includes multiple stints with the Mets over the last year, beginning last June when New York signed Lovelady after he’d opted out of a minor league contract with the Twins. Lovelady ended up posting a 6.30 ERA over 10 innings with the Amazins, while also being DFA’ed and outrighted three different times. The southpaw refused the first of those outrights and elected free agency, but soon re-signed with the Mets.
Lovelady has been out of minor league options following the 2024 season, which is why he has been ping-ponged around without much roster security. While the Mets clearly see enough in Lovelady to keep re-acquiring him, he is likely viewed as no more than left-handed bullpen depth, and a possible candidate for another DFA if New York needs roster space. Lovelady is signed for 2026 on a split contract that he inked with the Mets in October, and is guaranteed a $350K salary in the minors and $1MM in the majors.
Hagenman was a 23rd-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2018 draft, and signing with the Mets last offseason helped pave the way for the righty to make his MLB debut in 2025 as part of the Mets’ revolving door of pitchers. Hagenman posted a 4.56 ERA across his first 23 2/3 innings in the Show, with an impressive 23 strikeouts against only two walks but also four homers allowed.
After spending most of his minor league career in a strict relief role, Hagenman has been used more as a swingman in Boston and New York’s Triple-A teams over the last two years. He was viewed as a longshot candidate to make the Mets’ Opening Day roster anyway, but this rib injury will now heavily delay Hagenman’s work even at Triple-A Syracuse. One minor silver lining is that the placement on the big league 60-day IL will earn Hagenman some Major League service time.
Nationals Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment
The Nationals have designated left-handed reliever Richard Lovelady for assignment, per a club announcement. His roster spot goes to righty Zack Littell, whose previously reported one-year deal with the Nats is now official.
Washington claimed Lovelady off waivers from the Mets back on Jan. 29. He’d signed a split major league deal with the Mets back in October, which the Mets hoped would help him to pass through waivers so he could be stashed in Syracuse as Triple-A depth. That didn’t work out, at least not on their initial attempt, as the Nats quickly scooped him up. Lovelady will now either be traded within the next five days or placed back on waivers, which are a 48-hour process. His DFA will be resolved within a week’s time.
Lovelady has had a solid showing with the Nats so far in camp. He’s allowed a run on four hits and three walks in four innings while fanning seven batters. He allowed 11 runs in 11 2/3 big league innings between the Blue Jays and Mets in 2025 but posted a a terrific 1.66 ERA with a 26.3% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 52.6% ground-ball rate in 38 Triple-A frames.
Lovelady is no stranger to posting strong numbers in the upper minors but running into some MLB struggles. He’s logged 111 MLB frames in his career and posted a 5.35 ERA but thrived with a 2.61 ERA, 26.9% strikeout rate and 7% walk rate in 175 2/3 Triple-A innings across parts of seven seasons. Although Lovelady hasn’t had consistent success in the majors, he did log a solid 4.25 ERA with quality strikeout, walk and grounder rates in 78 1/3 big league frames from 2022-24.
Since he’s out of minor league options, Lovelady couldn’t simply be sent back to Triple-A. The Nats will hope he clears waivers and can be stashed in the upper minors within their system, just as the Mets tried to do. He cleared waivers on several occasions last year but was also selected to a major league roster five different times between Toronto and New York, including that major league deal with the Mets in October. He’s ping-ponged on and off MLB rosters of the Royals, A’s, Cubs, Jays and Mets dating back to 2022, so it’s certainly possible another club with a need for some bullpen depth takes a low-cost flier via waivers or a cash swap.
Nationals Claim Richard Lovelady, Designate Mickey Gasper For Assignment
The Nationals announced that they have claimed left-hander Richard Lovelady off waivers from the Mets. New York designated him for assignment a week ago when they acquired Vidal Bruján. To open a spot for Lovelady today, the Nats have designated utility player Mickey Gasper for assignment.
Lovelady, 30, hasn’t found much major league success yet but has received a number of chances due to better numbers in the minors. He has 111 big league innings spread over multiple seasons and in various different jerseys. In that time, he posted a 5.35 earned run average, 21.1% strikeout rate, 8.7% walk rate and 50.9% ground ball rate.
Since he’s out of options, he bounced around the league via numerous transactions last year. He went from the Blue Jays to the Twins and then the Mets, the latter club bouncing him on and off the roster multiple times. He only made ten big league appearances around the transactions with an 8.49 ERA. But in Triple-A, he logged 38 innings with a 1.66 ERA, 26.3% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 52.6% ground ball rate.
He didn’t have a roster spot at the end of the season but the Mets quickly re-signed him in October to a split deal which would pay him $1MM in the majors and $350K in the minors. It might seem odd to sign a player and then put him on waivers a few months later but that was likely by design.
As mentioned, Lovelady is out of options, meaning he can’t be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. If he were to clear, he would have the right to elect free agency, since he has at least three years of big league service time. But with his service time below five years, that means Lovelady would have to walk away from the money on his deal in exercising that right. The Mets likely signed him to that deal hoping that it would both disincentivize other clubs from claiming him and also motivate Lovelady to accept an assignment to Triple-A.
The Nationals have foiled that plan by swooping in with a claim. That’s understandable since their bullpen is one of the worst in the majors, if not the very worst. Washington relievers had a collective 5.59 ERA in 2025, highest in the big leagues. The Rockies were second-worst at 5.18.
Washington traded Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners this winter, which thinned out the relief corps generally and also left them fairly light in terms of lefties. Before this claim, PJ Poulin was the only southpaw reliever on the roster, unless the Nats plan to move some of their starters to the pen. Poulin has only 28 big league games under his belt.
It’s possible the Nats try to pass Lovelady through waivers in the future and other moves could change the roster picture, but for now he has landed in a spot where he has a pretty good chance to earn an Opening Day job. If he still has a roster spot at season’s end, he can be controlled for another two seasons via arbitration.
Gasper, 30, hasn’t done much in the majors yet but has strong minor league numbers and defensive flexibility. He made his big league debut with the Red Sox in 2024 and appeared with the Twins last year, slashing .133/.250/.195 in his first 133 big league plate appearances.
He hit .285/.385/.531 in 208 Triple-A appearances last year. He was 29 years old at the time and that was his third season with at least some Triple-A action but the 137 wRC+ was nonetheless impressive. Even if that’s setting the offensive expectations too high, the defensive versatility is real. Gasper has experience behind the plate, at the three non-shortstop infield positions and left field.
The entire package makes him fairly attractive as a multi-positional bench piece, especially since he’s a switch-hitter. He also has options and doesn’t need to be guaranteed a big league roster spot. The Twins put him on waivers last week and he was claimed by the Nats, one of the clubs nearest the front of the waiver wire priority queue. Washington will now likely put him back on waivers at some point in the next five days.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images
Mets Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment
The Mets designated lefty reliever Richard Lovelady for assignment. That’s the corresponding 40-man roster move for utility player Vidal Bruján, whom they acquired from Minnesota tonight.
Lovelady signed a split deal at the beginning of the offseason. He secured a spot on the 40-man at the time of signing but knew there was a decent chance he’d be dropped from the roster over the winter. The contract pays Lovelady a $1MM salary for time in the majors and a $350K rate in the minor leagues. He’s out of options, so the MiLB salary only becomes relevant if the team gets him through waivers at some point. Lovelady would have the right to elect free agency if he’s outrighted but would lose his salary, so the deal is structured to incentivize him to report to Triple-A.
The 30-year-old southpaw made eight appearances for the Mets and pitched twice for the Blue Jays last season. He combined for 11 2/3 innings and gave up 11 earned runs. Lovelady struck out 12 but issued 10 free passes — six via walk and four hit batters. That elevated his career earned run average to 5.35 across 111 innings.
Lovelady had a much better season in the minors. He tallied 38 innings of 1.66 ERA ball while striking out 26.3% of batters faced in Triple-A. The Mets like him as a depth option, so they’ll hope he clears waivers and sticks around in a non-roster capacity. A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley are slated to be the pair of southpaws in Carlos Mendoza’s season-opening bullpen.
Mets Sign Richard Lovelady To Major League Contract
October 24: It’s a split deal that would pay Lovelady at a $1MM rate while he’s on the MLB roster, reports The Associated Press. He’d make a $350K salary in the minors. Lovelady is out of options, but the Mets could try to run him through waivers at some point this offseason. He’d have the right to decline an outright assignment but is less likely to do so when that’d mean walking away from at least a $350K minor league salary.
October 23: The Mets announced this afternoon that they have signed left-handed pitcher Richard Lovelady to a one-year major league contract. The Mets have multiple vacancies on their 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves will be necessary.
Lovelady, 30, made two appearances for the Blue Jays at the beginning of the season but was designated for assignment on March 30 and eventually became a free agent. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins and pitched for their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul from early April to mid-June, when he opted out of that deal. He then signed with the Mets on June 18. From June 23 through the end of the season, Lovelady saw his contract selected and then designated for assignment three times. That the Mets signed him to a major league deal this time around is notable for him, as it might give him a shot at a role in the big league bullpen in 2026 after spending most of this year at the Triple-A level.
The lefty did not find success during his limited time in the majors in 2025, posting an 8.49 ERA across 11 2/3 innings with the Mets and Blue Jays. In 111 career innings from 2019-25, he has a 5.35 ERA along with a 21.1% strikeout rate and an 8.7% walk rate. His 4.08 career xERA and 4.54 FIP are are more favorable but still not great. In addition, Lovelady’s four-seam fastball velocity declined from 92.4 mph in 2024 to 91.7 mph this year. His sinker, which he now uses 34.4% of the time, similarly declined from 92.2 to 91.4 mph. With below average velocity, it is perhaps unsurprising that Lovelady has allowed more hard contact than average, with a career hard-hit rate of 42.2%. For context, the league average in 2025 was 40.9%.
However, it should be noted that Lovelady has had success in the big leagues before. In 2021 with the Royals, he pitched 20 1/3 innings with a 3.48 ERA while getting ground balls at a well above average 56.6% rate. That came in a small sample, of course, but Lovelady has actually gotten grounders at a rate of 50.9% in his career, including 51.4% during his big league time in 2025. He also performed very well in Triple-A this year, with a 1.66 ERA, a 26.3% strikeout rate, and a 52.6% groundball rate in 38 innings. It’s possible the Mets could look to harness his ground ball potential while cutting down on the hard contact in 2026.
At present, Lovelady and Brooks Raley are the only lefties in the Mets’ bullpen. Raley is 37 and missed significant time while recovering from last year’s Tommy John surgery, although he performed well upon his return in July. The team holds a club option on Raley for 2026 and could either pick that up or re-sign him at a cheaper rate given his age. Gregory Soto made 25 appearances for the Mets after being acquired from the Orioles in July, though he is now a free agent.
22 Players Elect Free Agency
Now that the season is over, we’ll start seeing several players choose to become minor league free agents. Major League free agents (i.e. players with six-plus years of big league service time) will hit the open market five days after the end of the World Series, but eligible minor leaguers can already start electing free agency.
To qualify, these players must have been all outrighted off their team’s 40-man rosters during the 2025 season without being added back. These players also must have multiple career outrights on their resume, and/or at least three years of Major League service time.
We’ll offer periodic updates over the coming weeks about many other players hitting the market in this fashion. These free agent decisions are all listed on the official MLB.com or MILB.com transactions pages, for further reference.
Catchers
- Matt Thaiss (Rays)
Infielders
- Sergio Alcantara (Diamondbacks)
- Keston Hiura (Rockies)
- Vimael Machin (Orioles)
Outfielders
- Jordyn Adams (Orioles)
- Connor Joe (Reds)
- Jose Siri (Mets)
Utility Players
- Scott Kingery (Angels)
- Terrin Vavra (Orioles)
Pitchers
- Scott Blewett (Orioles)
- Noah Davis (Twins)
- Kevin Herget (Mets)
- Nick Hernandez (Astros)
- Brooks Kriske (Twins)
- Richard Lovelady (Mets)
- Corbin Martin (Orioles)
- Darren McCaughan (Twins)
- Triston McKenzie (Guardians)
- Cionel Perez (Orioles)
- Jose Ruiz (Rangers)
- Jordan Weems (Astros)
- Bryse Wilson (White Sox)
Mets Place Brett Baty On 10-Day Injured List
The Mets placed infielder Brett Baty on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain. Outfielder Jared Young was called up from Triple-A Syracuse in the corresponding move. New York also announced that outfielder Jose Siri and left-hander Richard Lovelady each cleared waivers and were outrighted to Syracuse.
Baty was removed in the second inning of Friday’s 6-2 loss to the Marlins with what was described initially as side tightness. The severity of the strain isn’t yet known, but at the very least, Baty will miss the Mets’ last two regular-season games and wouldn’t be available until partway through the NLDS, should the Mets both reach the playoffs in the first place and then advance beyond the wild card round. Anything beyond a minimal strain will probably end Baty’s season entirely, given how most oblique injuries require at least 3-4 weeks of recovery time.
New York faces an uphill battle to make it to October, since the Reds hold the tiebreaker advantage over the Mets. Both teams are 82-78, so if the Reds win out (or the Mets lose one and the Reds win one), Cincinnati will clinch the final NL playoff berth.
This difficult path to the postseason will be even trickier without Baty, who has hit .312/.368/.512 with seven home runs over his last 136 plate appearances. This hot streak over the last six weeks has raised Baty’s season-long slash line to .254/.313/.435 over 432 PA, and his wRC+ is now 111. Since Baty had only a 71 wRC+ in 602 big league plate appearances prior to 2025, this season has been a welcome step forward for a player who was once the top prospect in New York’s farm system. Beyond his improved hitting, Baty has also been providing pretty steady glovework at both second and third base, and his work at the keystone represents Baty’s first time playing second base at the MLB level.
Baty has mostly stuck to third base over the last few weeks, and any of Mark Vientos, Luisangel Acuna, or Ronny Mauricio (who is at the hot corner in today’s lineup) could handle the position this weekend and potentially into the playoffs. Young’s return to the active roster gives the Mets enough outfield depth to keep McNeil more or less locked at second base.
Siri and Lovelady were each designated for assignment earlier this week. Both players have the right to reject the outright assignment in favor of free agency — Siri because he has more than three years of MLB service time, and Lovelady because he has previously been outrighted in his career. Electing free agency would cost Siri what little remains of his $2.4MM salary for 2025, and he might prefer to stick with the Mets just in case they make the playoffs and injuries open a roster spot. Lovelady is a longer shot to make any postseason roster, so the southpaw may prefer to become a free agent and get an early start on the offseason market.
Mets Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment
The Mets announced that they have recalled right-hander Kevin Herget from Triple-A Syracuse. In a corresponding move, left-hander Richard Lovelady has been designated for assignment. They also announced that righty Chris Devenski, who was designated for assignment a few days ago, has been sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse.
Lovelady, 30, has been on and off the Mets roster this year. Since he’s out of options and his results have been subpar, he has repeatedly been bumped off, but has been brought back whenever the club needs a fresh arm. He signed with the Mets in June but was designated for assignment a couple of days later. He elected free agency but then re-signed shortly thereafter. He was bumped off the roster again in July but then was added back in recent days.
Around the transactions, he has thrown 11 2/3 innings this year, including an earlier stint with the Blue Jays. He has allowed 11 earned runs in that time via 12 hits, six walks and hitting four batters while striking out 12. He has also thrown 38 minor league innings this year with a 1.66 earned run average, 26.3% strikeout rate, 8.6% walk rate and 52.6% ground ball rate.
He’ll now head to the waiver wire again. He has already cleared multiple times this year and won’t have huge appeal now. There are only a few days left in the regular season and he wouldn’t be postseason eligible with any claiming club. If he were to clear waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency, as he has done before. However, he may consider sticking with the Mets, since they still have a shot at the postseason. If he stays and they make it in, he could perhaps return to the roster in October if injuries pop up.
Devenski, 34, has received somewhat similar treatment from the Mets. He has twice been designated for assignment by the club this year. The first time, he elected free agency but re-signed. He could opt for the open market again, but as mentioned with Lovelady, it’s possible he’ll stay for the chance of being needed in the postseason.
Around the transactions, Devenski has thrown 16 2/3 innings this year with a 2.16 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, 7.7% walk rate and 45.5% ground ball rate. He has also thrown 37 2/3 minor league innings with a 3.35 ERA, 20.8% strikeout rate, 5.2% walk rate and 45.5% ground ball rate.
Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images