Headlines

  • Braves Designate Craig Kimbrel For Assignment
  • Corbin Burnes To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Braves Select Craig Kimbrel
  • Jerry Reinsdorf, Justin Ishbia Reach Agreement For Ishbia To Obtain Future Majority Stake In White Sox
  • White Sox To Promote Kyle Teel
  • Sign Up For Trade Rumors Front Office Now And Lock In Savings!
  • 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
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2025-26 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2025
    • Free Agent Contest Leaderboard
    • 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

Richard Lovelady

Twins Sign Richard Lovelady To Minor League Deal

By Anthony Franco | April 8, 2025 at 9:07pm CDT

The Twins added reliever Richard Lovelady on a minor league contract. The move was announced by the team’s Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul, where the left-hander was assigned. Zone Coverage’s Theodore Tollefson reported the signing before the announcement.

Lovelady elected free agency over the weekend after being designated for assignment by the Blue Jays. He’d only made two appearances with Toronto, allowing four runs across 1 2/3 innings. Lovelady had pitched in eight Spring Training contests. He struck out eight but gave up seven runs on nine hits (including three homers) and a trio of walks over 8 1/3 frames.

The Jays were Lovelady’s fifth big league team. He spent the first few seasons of his career in Kansas City and subsequently bounced to the A’s, Cubs and Rays. He pitched fairly well over 28 appearances with Tampa Bay late last season, turning in a 3.77 ERA across 28 2/3 frames. He got ground-balls at a strong 53.5% clip but had a mediocre 16.8% strikeout rate. The Rays opted not to keep him on the roster and non-tendered him.

Lovelady owns a 5.26 ERA in 101 major league innings over six seasons. His fastball sits in the low-90s and he doesn’t miss a ton of bats. Lovelady has gotten grounders on half the batted balls he has allowed while keeping left-handed hitters to a .232/.325/.345 line over 194 career plate appearances.

He’s a sensible depth add for a team with a heavily right-handed bullpen. Danny Coulombe is the only southpaw on the active roster. Kody Funderburk is in St. Paul on optional assignment. Lovelady and Anthony Misiewicz join him in Triple-A without occupying a 40-man roster spot. Lovelady is out of options, so the Twins could not send him back to the minors without running him through waivers if they call him up.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Minnesota Twins Transactions Richard Lovelady

14 comments

Richard Lovelady Elects Free Agency

By Darragh McDonald | April 5, 2025 at 2:25pm CDT

TODAY: Lovelady has opted to reject the outright assignment and become a free agent, according to his MLB.com profile page.

APRIL 4: The Blue Jays have sent left-hander Richard Lovelady outright to Triple-A Buffalo, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment a few days ago.

Lovelady, 29, has the right to elect free agency but it’s unclear if he will do so. Players with at least three years of major league service time, such as Lovelady, have that right. However, a player needs at least five years of service in order to both elect free agency and retain whatever money is still owed to him on his contract. Lovelady is just barely over the three-year line, meaning he’d have to walk away from his current contract if he heads to the open market.

It’s unclear what sort of financial decision he’s weighing. He signed a minor league deal with the Jays in the winter and was added to the 40-man prior to Opening Day. His major league salary on that deal hasn’t been publicly reported.

If he reports to Buffalo, he’ll give the Jays some non-roster depth. His brief time on their major league roster didn’t go well, as he allowed four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. But his career track record is better than that. Overall, he has 101 innings in the majors with a 21.2% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. Both of those numbers are close to league averages but his 50.2% ground ball rate is a few ticks better than par.

This has all resulted in a 5.26 earned run average but perhaps with some bad luck in there. His .301 batting average on balls in play and 65% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side of normal. That’s perhaps why his 4.32 FIP and 4.04 SIERA look far nicer than his ERA.

The Jays currently have Brendon Little and Mason Fluharty as the lefties in their bullpen. Josh Walker is on the 40-man but on optional assignment. As the season rolls along, injuries will pop up or the bullpen will get taxed during busy parts of the schedule. If Lovelady accepts his assignment and he performs well in Buffalo, the Jays could call him back up at some point. If he decides to head to free agency, he will likely be limited to minor league offers from other clubs.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Richard Lovelady

34 comments

Blue Jays Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment

By Nick Deeds | March 30, 2025 at 9:42am CDT

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.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Mason Fluharty Richard Lovelady Tommy Nance

40 comments

Blue Jays Select Richard Lovelady

By Darragh McDonald | March 17, 2025 at 4:20pm CDT

The Blue Jays announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Richard Lovelady. Right-hander Alek Manoah, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, has been transferred to the 60-day injured list as a corresponding move. Hazel Mae of Sportsnet announced the moves prior to the official announcement.

Lovelady, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Jays in January. He made his seventh appearance today, allowing one earned run, pushing his earned run average to 5.14. That’s obviously not an incredibly impressive number but the southpaw does have eight strikeouts in seven innings.

Prior to joining the Jays, Lovelady’s track record has been that of a groundballer. He has 99 1/3 innings in the big leagues, spending time with the Royals, Athletics, Cubs and Rays. In that time, his 21.1% strikeout rate and 8.4% walk rate were close to league average, but with a strong 50.9% ground ball rate. With the Jays this spring, he came into today with a grounder rate of just 35.7%. Today’s outing went walk, ground ball double play, homer, ground ball single, walk, ground out.

For the Jays, Opening Day is still over a week away. Adding Lovelady to the roster now seems to suggest that he had some sort of opt-out in his deal and the Jays didn’t want him to get away. Left-handed relief is one of the bigger question marks on the Toronto roster. The Jays also have Brendon Little, Josh Walker and Easton Lucas on the 40-man but they all have options and each has less than 50 innings of major league experience.

Lovelady himself is out of options, but it seems he is not guaranteed a spot. Mae relays word from manager John Schneider that Lovelady is still trying to earn a spot on the active roster, even though he’s now on the 40-man. Although the Jays have added Lovelady now to prevent him from opting out, they may still decide to designate him for assignment when their season starts next week. If he ends up on waivers, perhaps some other club will be enticed and put in a claim.

If he were to clear waivers, what would happen next could depend on what salary figures are in his minor league deal. Lovelady has at least three years of service time, which gives him the right to reject an outright assignment. But since he has less than five years of service, electing free agency means walking away from whatever money he is still owed on his deal. The salary figures on his pact haven’t been publicly reported.

That means there’s a possible sequence of events where the Jays select his contract today and then pass him through waivers next week, with Lovelady then deciding to stick around in order to keep the money from this deal flowing. But it’s also possible that he cracks the Opening Day roster, or winds up bouncing to another club.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Alek Manoah Richard Lovelady

40 comments

Blue Jays Sign Christian Bethancourt, Richard Lovelady To Minor League Deals

By Steve Adams | January 22, 2025 at 1:21pm CDT

The Blue Jays announced Wednesday that they’ve signed catcher Christian Bethancourt and left-hander Richard Lovelady to minor league contracts. Both players have been invited to major league camp during spring training.

Bethancourt, 33, had a decent showing at the plate as recently as 2022, when he slashed .252/.283/.409 (99 wRC+) with 11 homers in 101 games between the A’s and Rays. His bat has tanked since that time, with a combined .220/.250/.377 between Tampa Bay, Miami and Chicago (Cubs).

Once one of the game’s top-100 prospects, Bethancourt has never really found his footing as a big league regular. He moved on from catching entirely at one point, attempting to reinvent himself as a reliever, but he’s now spent several years back behind the plate. He’s a lifetime .229/.259/.367 hitter in the big leagues.

While that offense (or lack thereof) leaves plenty to be desired, Bethancourt has controlled the running game quite nicely thanks to a rocket arm that received 80 grades (on the 20-80 scale) during his prospect days. As the average caught-stealing rate has dropped to just 20.3% leaguewide following tweaks to the size of the bases and limits on pickoff attempts, Bethancourt has excelled. He thwarted 30% of stolen base attempts against him last year. Dating back to 2022, Bethancourt boasts a gaudy 29.9% caught-stealing rate. Over the past four seasons, only J.T. Realmuto, Patrick Bailey and Gabriel Moreno have contributed more value with their throwing, among catchers, per Statcast.

Bethancourt won’t be in the mix for the starting job in Toronto. That belongs to Alejandro Kirk. But the Jays’ only other catcher on the 40-man roster right now is journeyman Tyler Heineman, who has a .212/.298/.273 slash in 299 career plate appearances in the majors. Bethancourt could very well be in the mix for that spot, though time will tell if the Jays bring in a more established veteran to solidify that critical role. As it stands, an injury to Kirk would leave Toronto with Heineman and one of Bethancourt or fellow non-roster invitee Ali Sanchez as manager John Schneider’s top options behind the dish.

Lovelady, 29, split the 2024 season between the Cubs and Rays, struggling with the former but pitching pretty well for the latter. The southpaw gave Tampa Bay 28 2/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball, albeit with a sub-par 16.8% strikeout rate. Lovelady’s 7.6% walk rate and 53.5% ground-ball rate were both strong marks, however, and the lefty has long shown an interesting blend of missed bats and grounders to go along with solid command.

Even with a decent showing for Tampa Bay, Lovelady was cut loose in November. The Rays designated him for assignment to open roster space for outfielder Jake Mangum, whom they wanted to protect from the Rule 5 Draft. Lovelady was non-tendered rather than traded or placed on waivers, immediately making him a free agent.

In 99 1/3 big league innings, Lovelady has a 21.1% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 50.9% grounder rate. He’s still been tagged for a 4.98 earned run average, thanks in large part to a 66% strand rate, but metrics like xFIP (4.27) and SIERA (4.02) have been more bullish than ERA. He’ll now try to catch on in Toronto, where the only lefty relievers on the 40-man roster are the inexperienced trio of Brendon Little, Easton Lucas and Josh Walker. Prospect Adam Macko also throws left-handed, but the Jays hope his future is in the rotation.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Christian Bethancourt Richard Lovelady

36 comments

American League Non-Tenders: 11/22/24

By Darragh McDonald | November 22, 2024 at 6:10pm CDT

The deadline to tender a contract to arbitration-eligible players is tonight at 7pm CT. Here’s a rundown of the players on American League teams that have been non-tendered today. This post will be updated as more decisions are revealed. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected salaries for all players eligible for arbitration last month. All players who are non-tendered before this evening’s deadline go directly into free agency, where they’re eligible to sign with any of MLB’s 30 clubs.

Onto the transactions…

  • The Angels announced that they have non-tendered left-hander Patrick Sandoval, infielder Eric Wagaman, as well as outfielders Jordyn Adams and Bryce Teodosio. You can read more about those moves here.
  • The Astros tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
  • The Athletics announced that they did not tender a contract to right-hander Dany Jiménez, who was projected for a $1MM salary. He posted a 4.91 in 25 appearances for the A’s in 2024. He struck out 21.4% of opponents but gave out walks at a 16.2% clip.
  • The Blue Jays are planning to non-tender righty Dillon Tate, per Ben Nicholson Smith and Shi Davidi of Sportsnet (X link). Tate was just claimed off waivers at the start of September and had a projected salary of $1.9MM. He’s a former fourth overall pick with some good numbers in his career but he missed most of 2023 due to injury and then posted a 4.66 ERA in 2024. The Jays are also non-tendering righty Jordan Romano, which you can read more about here.
  • The Guardians have non-tendered outfielder George Valera and right-hander Connor Gillispie, per Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com (X link). Both players were designated for assignment earlier this week.
  • The Mariners are going to non-tender outfielder Sam Haggerty, per Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 (X link). He was limited to just eight games in 2024 due to a torn achilles. He was only projected for a salary of $900K but the M’s have decided to move on. They also non-tendered infielder Josh Rojas and righties Austin Voth and JT Chargois, moves that are covered with more depth here.
  • The Orioles plan to non-tender right-hander Jacob Webb, per Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner (X link). Webb was projected for a salary of $1.7MM next year. The righty tossed 56 2/3 innings for the O’s in 2024 with a 3.02 ERA and 24.5% strikeout rate, but an 11.4% walk rate.
  • The Rays announced they have non-tendered outfielder Dylan Carlson as well as left-handers Tyler Alexander, Colin Poche and Richard Lovelady. Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times relayed the news (X link) prior to the official announcement. Carlson once seemed like a building block in St. Louis but his offense has declined for three straight years now and he was projected for a $2.7MM salary. Alexander was projected for $2.8MM and had a 5.10 ERA this year. Poche had a solid 3.86 ERA but was projected for $3.4MM. Lovelady was designated for assignment a few days ago.
  • The Rangers tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
  • The Red Sox announced that right-handers Bryan Mata and Isaiah Campbell were both non-tendered. Those two had been designated for assignment earlier this week.
  • The Royals tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
  • The Tigers announced that they have non-tendered infielder Eddys Leonard as well as right-handers Ricky Vanasco, Brendan White and Wilmer Flores. Three of those four were designated for assignment earlier this week. Flores, the lone exception, is the younger brother of the same-named Wilmer Flores of the Giants. The younger Flores was once a notable pitching prospect but was injured for most of 2024.
  • The Twins tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class.
  • The Yankees have non-tendered infielder Jon Berti, per Robert Murray of FanSided (X link). He was projected for a salary of $3.8MM. He was injured for much of the year and only got into 25 games. The Yankees also announced that they have non-tendered left-hander Tim Mayza, who was projected for a $4MM salary but had a 6.33 ERA in 2024.
  • The White Sox will non-tender first baseman/outfielder Gavin Sheets, which MLBTR covered earlier today. The Sox later announced Sheets and also that they non-tendered right-hander Enyel De Los Santos as well. De Los Santos was projected for a salary of $1.7MM but posted a 5.20 ERA this year.
Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Baltimore Orioles Boston Red Sox Chicago White Sox Cleveland Guardians Detroit Tigers Houston Astros Kansas City Royals Los Angeles Angels Minnesota Twins New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Seattle Mariners Tampa Bay Rays Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Transactions Austin Voth Brendan White Bryan Mata Bryce Teodosio Colin Poche Connor Gillispie Dany Jimenez Dillon Tate Dylan Carlson Eddys Leonard Enyel De Los Santos Eric Wagaman Gavin Sheets George Valera Isaiah Campbell J.T. Chargois Jacob Webb Jon Berti Jordan Romano Jordyn Adams Josh Rojas Patrick Sandoval Richard Lovelady Ricky Vanasco Sam Haggerty Tim Mayza Tyler Alexander Wilmer Flores (b. 2001)

35 comments

Rays Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment

By Steve Adams | November 19, 2024 at 2:04pm CDT

The Rays announced Tuesday that they’ve designated left-hander Richard Lovelady for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to outfielder Jake Mangum, whose contract has been selected. Mangum’s selection to the roster protects him from next month’s Rule 5 Draft.

Lovelady, 29, split the 2024 season between the Cubs and Rays, struggling with the former but pitching pretty well for the latter. The southpaw gave Tampa Bay 28 2/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball, albeit with a sub-par 16.8% strikeout rate. Lovelady’s 7.6% walk rate and 53.5% ground-ball rate were both strong marks, however, and the lefty has long shown an interesting blend of missed bats and grounders to go along with solid command. In 99 1/3 big league innings, Lovelady has a 21.1% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 50.9% grounder rate. He’s still been tagged for a 4.98 earned run average, thanks in large part to a 66% strand rate, but metrics like xFIP (4.27) and SIERA (4.02) have been more bullish than ERA.

The Rays will have a week to trade Lovelady or attempt to pass him through waivers. They can also non-tender him before Friday and cut him right from the roster without first exposing him to any form of waivers — the only time of year clubs are able to do so. He’s out of minor league options, so any club that acquires Lovelady would need to carry him on the 40-man roster to open the season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Lovelady for a $900K salary in 2025. He’s controllable through the 2027 season.

Mangum, 28, came to the Rays as the player to be named later in the deal that sent utilityman Vidal Brujan and righty Calvin Faucher to the Marlins. He spent the 2024 season in Triple-A, where he slashed .317/.357/.442 with six homers and 20 steals in 428 turns at the plate. Mangum is a switch-hitter with good speed, strong bat-to-ball skills and the ability to play all three outfield spots. He’ll likely get an opportunity to make his MLB debut in a fourth-outfielder role with the Rays in 2025.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Jake Mangum Richard Lovelady

25 comments

Rays Reinstate Colin Poche, Place Richard Lovelady On 15-Day IL

By Mark Polishuk | June 8, 2024 at 11:59am CDT

The Rays announced that left-hander Colin Poche has been activated from the 15-day injured list.  Poche will return to take the roster spot of fellow southpaw Richard Lovelady, who is headed to the 15-day IL due to a flexor strain in his left forearm.

Poche last pitched on April 23, as he has been recovering from tightness in the middle of his back.  Poche required two injections to aid the healing process, the second coming just under a month ago after his initial throwing program was shut down due to recurring back discomfort.  He officially returned to the mound in game action this past week with Triple-A Durham, tossing 2 2/3 total innings over three rehab appearances.

The back problems likely contributed to Poche’s slow start, as he had a 6.75 ERA across his first 9 1/3 big league innings for Tampa this season.  Poche’s average fastball velocity was down to 90.9mph from 92.5mph in 2023, and his strikeout rate plummeted from 24.8% to 14.3%.  After allowing 15 homers over 119 1/3 relief innings for the Rays in 2022-23, Poche had already given up three long balls in his small sample size of work this season.

A return to form for Poche would greatly aid a Rays bullpen that has been uncharacteristically average this season, with a cumulative 4.20 ERA that ranks 20th of 30 teams.  Poche joins Garrett Cleavinger as the pen’s two left-handed options, while Lovelady will now be sidelined with a potentially serious arm injury.

Lovelady’s health history includes a Tommy John surgery in 2021, and then a pronator muscle strain in his forearm that brought an early end to his 2023 season.  A flexor strain likely indicates a lengthy rehab process even for a pitcher without these past injuries on his resume, though hopefully Lovelady can avoid another surgery.

The Rays only just brought Lovelady into the organization three weeks ago, when Tampa acquired the left-hander from Chicago after the Cubs had designated him for assignment.  The results haven’t been there for Lovelady before or after the trade, as his 7.62 ERA breaks down as a 7.94 ERA in 5 2/3 frames for the Cubs and a 7.36 ERA in 7 1/3 innings with Tampa Bay.  Despite the ugly bottom-line numbers, Lovelady’s SIERA is only 3.65, as he has hampered by a very low 45.9% strand rate and a very high .386 BABIP.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Colin Poche Richard Lovelady

3 comments

Rays Acquire Richard Lovelady From Cubs

By Mark Polishuk | May 18, 2024 at 10:40am CDT

The Rays and Cubs have agreed to a swap of left-handers, as the Rays announced that Richard Lovelady has been acquired in exchange for minor leaguer Jeff Belge.  In a corresponding move, right-hander Jacob Waguespack was transferred to Tampa Bay’s 60-day injured list to create room on the 40-man roster.

Chicago designated Lovelady for assignment earlier this week, and today’s trade will officially end his Wrigleyville tenure after seven appearances.  Lovelady signed a minor league contract with the Cubs over the offseason, and the team’s spate of bullpen injuries created another opportunity for the southpaw in the Show, as his contract was selected to the 26-man roster at the end of April.  Unfortunately for Lovelady, he posted a 7.94 ERA over his 5 2/3 innings with Chicago, making him expendable when the Cubs needed a roster spot for the newly-acquired Tyson Miller.

Lovelady has pitched in five of the last six MLB seasons, with a 5.48 ERA across his 70 2/3 innings as a big leaguer.  The home run ball has presented some problems for Lovelady and he isn’t a particularly hard thrower, yet some elements to his game hint at the potential for more consistent effectiveness.  Lovelady has a 49.8% grounder rate at the Major League level, as well as solid strikeout (22.7%) and walk (8.8%) rates.

If any team can make Lovelady a late bloomer as he approaches his 29th birthday, it might be the Rays, given their history of turning unheralded pitchers into quality contributors.  Lovelady is in his final minor league option year, so Tampa Bay has some flexibility in moving him between the majors and minors as circumstances warrant.  Garrett Cleavinger is the only other southpaw in the Rays’ bullpen, so Lovelady will bring some more depth against lefty-swinging batters.

The 26-year-old Belge was an 18th-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2019 draft, and he came to Tampa in the December 2022 trade that sent J.P. Feyereisen to Los Angeles.  Working almost exclusively as a relief pitcher in his 165 1/3 minor league innings, Belge has a 3.81 ERA and an impressive 32.59% strikeout rate, though his 14.56% walk rate is also inflated.  Belge has pitched with Double-A Montgomery for the last two seasons and has yet to make his Triple-A debut.

Waguespack was placed on the 15-day IL on May 6 due to inflammation in his right rotator cuff.  The issue is serious enough that he’ll need at least a 60-day stint to fully recover, so he’ll be out of action until the second week of July at the earliest.  Waguespack has a 5.40 ERA across 10 innings and four appearances with Tampa Bay this season, which marked his first MLB action since 2020.  The interim three seasons were spent in the Blue Jays’ farm system and then with the Orix Buffaloes of Nippon Professional Baseball.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Tampa Bay Rays Transactions Jacob Waguespack Jeff Belge Richard Lovelady

33 comments

Cubs Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment

By Steve Adams | May 14, 2024 at 9:11am CDT

The Cubs designated left-hander Richard Lovelady for assignment Tuesday, per a team announcement. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to righty Tyson Miller, whose previously reported trade from Seattle to Chicago is now official.

Lovelady, 28, signed a minor league pact with the Cubs back in January and was selected to the big league roster in late April. He’s tossed 5 2/3 innings out of Craig Counsell’s bullpen and been tagged for five runs on nine hits and a pair of walks with six strikeouts. That marks the fifth big league season in which the southpaw has appeared; Lovelady made his MLB debut with the 2019 Royals and pitched in K.C. from 2019-21, and he logged 23 1/3 innings with the A’s last season. Overall, in 70 2/3 big league innings, he carries a 5.48 ERA but with a far more encouraging 22.7% strikeout rate, 8.8% walk rate and 49.8% ground-ball rate.

That blend of strikeouts, walks and grounders, coupled with a strong Triple-A track record, has made Lovelady appealing to MLB teams over the past year despite a history of success in the majors. The Cubs are his fourth organization since Opening Day 2023. Lovelady has been picked up by the Braves in a small trade, claimed off waivers by the A’s, and quickly selected to the big leagues with the Cubs.

In parts of six Triple-A seasons, Lovelady has a 2.95 ERA with a sharp strikeout, walk and ground-ball rates of 26.6%, 6.8% and 50.7%, respectively. He’s not a power arm, but he has added more than a mile per hour to both his four-seamer and sinker since last year’s showing with Oakland. He sat at 91 mph with both pitches last year but averaged 92.8 mph on the four-seam and 92.5  mph on his two-seam during his brief showing with Chicago.

Lovelady does have a minor league option remaining, so any club that picks him up via trade or waiver claim could send him to Triple-A without first passing him through waivers themselves. He’ll be traded, claimed off waivers or assigned outright to Triple-A Iowa within the next week (if he clears waivers). He’s been outrighted previously in his career, so Lovelady would have the right to reject a minor league assignment from the Cubs if he does go unclaimed.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email0

Chicago Cubs Transactions Richard Lovelady

49 comments
Load More Posts
Show all

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Braves Designate Craig Kimbrel For Assignment

    Corbin Burnes To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Braves Select Craig Kimbrel

    Jerry Reinsdorf, Justin Ishbia Reach Agreement For Ishbia To Obtain Future Majority Stake In White Sox

    White Sox To Promote Kyle Teel

    Sign Up For Trade Rumors Front Office Now And Lock In Savings!

    Pablo Lopez To Miss Multiple Months With Teres Major Strain

    MLB To Propose Automatic Ball-Strike Challenge System For 2026

    Giants Designate LaMonte Wade Jr., Sign Dominic Smith

    Reds Sign Wade Miley, Place Hunter Greene On Injured List

    Padres Interested In Jarren Duran

    Royals Promote Jac Caglianone

    Mariners Promote Cole Young, Activate Bryce Miller

    2025-26 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings: May Edition

    Evan Phillips To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    AJ Smith-Shawver Diagnosed With Torn UCL

    Reds Trade Alexis Díaz To Dodgers

    Rockies Sign Orlando Arcia

    Ronel Blanco To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Joc Pederson Suffers Right Hand Fracture

    Recent

    Brewers Claim Drew Avans

    Phillies Claim Ryan Cusick, Designate Kyle Tyler

    White Sox Sign Tyler Alexander, Place Jared Shuster On 15-Day IL

    Orioles Designate Matt Bowman For Assignment

    Diamondbacks Select Kyle Backhus, Designate Aramis Garcia

    Athletics Acquire Austin Wynns

    Julio Rodriguez Helped Off Field Following Apparent Injury

    Astros Designate Forrest Whitley For Assignment

    Twins Place Zebby Matthews On 15-Day IL, Reinstate Danny Coulombe

    Rays Promote Ian Seymour

    ad: 300x250_5_side_mlb

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

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2024-25 Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • Nolan Arenado Rumors
    • Dylan Cease Rumors
    • Luis Robert Rumors
    • Marcus Stroman Rumors

     

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Remove Ads, Support Our Writers
    • Front Office Originals
    • Front Office Fantasy Baseball
    • MLBTR Podcast
    • 2024-25 Offseason Outlook Series
    • 2025 Arbitration Projections
    • 2024-25 MLB Free Agent List
    • 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

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    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

    hide arrows scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version