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Richard Lovelady

Nationals Claim Richard Lovelady, Designate Mickey Gasper For Assignment

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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Mets Place Brett Baty On 10-Day Injured List

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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

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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

Mets Select Richard Lovelady, DFA Wander Suero

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The Mets announced this morning that they’ve designated right-hander Wander Suero for assignment. Left-hander Richard Lovelady was selected to replace Suero on the 40-man and active rosters and pitched in the club’s loss to the Nationals earlier today.

Suero, 33, departs the Mets’ roster just two days after being selected to the roster. It’s the second time this season New York has cut Suero from the roster without him making an appearance for the club. A veteran of seven MLB seasons, the right-hander made his big league debut with the Nationals during the 2018 season and enjoyed a solid three-year run as a middle reliever for the club where he pitched to a 4.10 ERA (108 ERA+) with intriguing peripherals. That included a 3.20 FIP and a 26.1% strikeout rate across his 142 2/3 innings of work from 2018 to 2020. Suero was also part of the organization for their World Series championship in 2019, and the righty not only made the postseason roster but also enjoyed three scoreless outings during the World Series against the Astros.

Things took a turn for the worse during the 2021 season, however, as Suero turned in a disastrous 6.33 ERA with a FIP of 5.80 in 45 appearances. He struck out 23.2% of his opponents while walking 7.9%, perfectly serviceable numbers for a middle reliever, but his home run rate spiked considerably as he allowed 11 long balls in just 42 2/3 innings of work. To make matters worse, his strand rate of 59.7% was among the worst in the majors and suggested some terrible luck in terms of sequencing, leaving him with even worse results than his already shaky peripherals suggest he had earned.

After leaving D.C. behind, Suero has become something of a journeyman. He pitched in the Angels organization on a minor league deal in 2022, but did not make it to the majors as he struggled in Triple-A’s hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. He posted better results at the level with the Dodgers and Astros over the next two years that earned him brief call-ups to the majors, but a 7.88 ERA in eight innings of work was all he had to show for those brief cameos in the big leagues. Suero entered 2025 as a member of the Braves and made five appearances for the club, but was designated for assignment after posting an 11.57 ERA and plucked off waivers by the Mets. He’s been riding the carousel between the majors and Triple-A Syracuse ever since, and now the Mets will once again attempt to pass him through waivers.

As for Lovelady, the lefty opened the year with the Blue Jays but made just two appearances for the club where he surrendered four runs in 1 2/3 innings of work before being designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and signed a minor league deal with the Twins, but after not getting called up to the big league roster he opted out of that deal to sign with the Mets on a major league deal. He’s been designated for assignment and selected back onto the roster several times throughout the year, and had allowed six runs in 8 2/3 innings across six appearances for New York entering today. Lovelady enjoyed one of his best outings as a Met against the Nationals today, as he struck out two while recording 1 1/3 scoreless frames. He’ll remain in the Mets bullpen for the time being and be a left-handed option alongside Brooks Raley and Gregory Soto.

Mets Recall Francisco Alvarez, Outright Richard Lovelady

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The Mets announced a series of roster moves today, including the previously-reported claimed of right-hander Rico Garcia off waivers from the Yankees. Righty Dedniel Núñez was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man roster spot for Garcia. It was recently reported that Núñez will require Tommy John surgery. The Mets will need to open an active roster spot for Garcia once he reports to the club. The Mets also recalled catcher Francisco Alvarez and optioned fellow backstop Hayden Senger. Additionally, left-hander Richard Lovelady has been sent outright to Triple-A Syracuse. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment last week. He has the right to elect free agency though it’s not yet clear if he has done so.

Alvarez got out to a bit of a slow start this year. The Mets optioned him to Triple-A about a month ago, as he was sitting on a .236/.319/.333 slash line at that time. He had hit just three home runs, after having missed the first month of the season due to a hamate fracture.

The optional assignment has seemingly lit a fire under him. He has 12 home runs in 29 games since being sent down, leading to a gargantuan .255/.352/.623 batting line for Syracuse. Now that he’s in a groove, the Mets have called him up and will see if he can carry that over at the major league level.

While the optional assignment ended up being relatively brief, it will be costly for Alvarez. He came into this year with two years and six days of service time, putting him on track for free agency after 2028. By spending a month in the minors, he won’t be able to push his service clock to the three-year line in 2025. That means the Mets have gained an extra year of club control over Alvarez, pushing his path to free agency until after 2029. He was going to reach free agency after his age-26 season but that will now be pushed until after his age-27 season. He is on track to qualify for arbitration this winter as a Super Two player, giving him four passes through arb instead of the usual three, but the delayed free agency is a hit to his career earning power.

As for Lovelady, he’s a veteran lefty who is out of options, which has led to him being on the fringes of a few rosters this year. He started the year with the Blue Jays but was designated for assignment after two appearances. He elected free agency and signed a minor league deal with the Twins, pitched well at Triple-A for a couple of months and then opted out of that deal. He has bounced on and off the Mets roster since then, twice getting added and then cut after a brief stint in both cases.

For the whole season, Lovelady has a 10.80 earned run average in 8 1/3 innings, though mostly due to allowing four earned runs in his second outing of the year. During his time in the Twins’ system, he tossed 20 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.31 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 60.4% ground ball rate. Every other time he has cleared waivers this year, he has elected free agency, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if he does so again in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images

Mets Reinstate Brooks Raley, Designate Richard Lovelady For Assignment

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The Mets announced that left-hander Brooks Raley has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Fellow lefty Richard Lovelady has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Raley, 37, has been a solid lefty reliever for a few years now. He was working as a starter in Korea from 2015 to 2019 but returned to affiliated ball after that. He spent time with the Reds, Astros and Rays before coming to the Mets for the 2023 season.

His first season as a Met was a good one. He pitched 54 2/3 innings with a 2.80 earned run average. His 10.6% walk rate was a bit high but he punched out 25.8% of opponents and got grounders at a 43% clip. That was impressive enough that the Mets picked up his $6.5MM club option for 2024. Unfortunately, he made just eight appearances last year. He landed on the injured list due to elbow inflammation and eventually required Tommy John surgery.

He remained unsigned throughout this offseason but re-signed with the Mets in late April, a one-year deal with a $1.85MM guarantee. That comes in the form of a $1.5MM salary this year followed by a $300K buyout on a $4.75MM club option for 2026. There are also bonuses in the deal, including a $250K roster bonus that he unlocked by being added to the active roster today.

The Mets came into the year with A.J. Minter and Danny Young as their lefty relief contingent. Shortly after the Raley deal was agreed to, both Minter and Young hit the IL. Minter required season-ending lat surgery while Young required Tommy John surgery.

As Raley has been rehabbing, the Mets have cycled through a number of stopgap lefties, including Lovelady, Génesis Cabrera, José Castillo and Colin Poche. Ideally, Raley can get back to his pre-surgery form and give the club a reliable southpaw out of the ’pen. For what it’s worth, he just threw nine scoreless innings in the minors during his rehab assignment, with a 36.1% strikeout rate, 2.8% walk rate and 52.6% ground ball rate. Regardless of how he performs over the next few weeks, the Mets will likely look to add another lefty or two prior to the deadline.

Lovelady, 30, is out of options and has been been on the fringes of a few rosters this year. He started with the Blue Jays but made just two appearances for them before getting designated for assignment. He elected free agency and landed a minor league deal with the Twins, though he opted out of that in mid-June.

Since then, he has twice signed with the Mets. After the first signing, he made one appearance before being designated for assignment and electing free agency. He re-signed a few days later and the second stint lasted a bit longer, allowing him to make five appearances.

On the whole, he has a 10.80 ERA this year, though it’s a small sample of 8 1/3 innings and most of the damage came in his second outing of the season. During his stint with the Twins, he tossed 20 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 1.31 ERA, 26.5% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 60.4% ground ball rate. Based on his recent track record, it’s possible he will again clear waivers and elect free agency in the coming days.

Photo courtesy of Wendell Cruz, Imagn Images

Mets Sign Richard Lovelady To Major League Deal

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The Mets announced a pair of roster moves this morning. Southpaw Richard Lovelady has signed with the club on a one-year deal. Lefty Colin Poche was designated for assignment to create room for Lovelady on both the 40-man and active rosters.

Lovelady returns to the Mets after being designated for assignment by the club last week and electing free agency shortly thereafter. The 29-year-old has pitched in parts of six MLB seasons but has not yet had an extended period of substantial success. A career 5.35 ERA pitcher in 102 2/3 innings, Lovelady’s surrendered six runs in 3 1/3 innings of work with the Blue Jays and Mets this year with four walks and four strikeouts. It’s not an especially inspiring profile, but Lovelady has long been viewed as an intriguing, high-ceiling arm given his quality stuff from the left side. He’s shown flashes of that potential in the past, most recently when he pitched to a 3.77 ERA in 28 2/3 innings of work for the Rays last year.

Making room for Lovelady on the roster is Poche, who is not too far removed from substantial success as a member of the Rays organization himself. He posted a strong 3.27 ERA in 156 2/3 innings of work for Tampa during the 2022-24 seasons, though he posted pedestrian peripherals in two of those three years. His 2023 was utterly dominant, as he posted a sterling 2.23 ERA with a 24.8% strikeout rate and a barrel rate of just 5.6%, though he did walk opponents at an elevated 9.8% clip. Those peripherals regressed last year, however, and the Rays non-tendered him over the offseason as a result.

Since being non-tendered, Poche has signed with both the Nationals and the Mets but has struggled badly with both teams. Poche made 13 appearances in D.C. but left the nation’s capital with 12 runs (11 earned) allowed in just 8 2/3 innings that saw him walk (12) as many batters as he struck out (10). His stay with the Mets was much briefer, as he made just one appearance and surrendered two runs in two-thirds of an inning of work while walking two and striking out one. The Mets will now have one week to either work out a trade involving Poche or pass him through waivers, at which point he would have the option to either accept an outright assignment to the minors or elect free agency. Perhaps Poche’s past success with the Rays will keep getting him attention from big league clubs despite his deep struggles with his command this year, but it seems likely he’ll remain limited to minor league deals until he can turn things around.

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