Richard

Lovelady

The 29-year-old Lovelady had a 4.46 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, and a 26/11 K/BB ratio over 34 1/3 innings between the Cubs and Rays during the 2024 season. For his career, he has allowed a .232 average and .653 OPS to left-handed hitters with a 24 percent strikeout rate, so he will try to compete for a job in the Blue Jay’s bullpen as a lefty specialist.

This move was anticipated after Lovelady had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. He’s now free to look for employment opportunities elsewhere. The 29-year-old southpaw posted a 4.46 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and a 26/11 K/BB ratio over 34 1/3 innings between the Cubs and Rays during the 2024 campaign.

Lovelady is off the 40-man roster, and it clears room for Jake Mangum. Lovelady should see interest on the waiver wire for a team looking to pile up left-handed options in their bullpen prior to the season.

Lovelady needed just six pitches to pick up the save. It’s just the second of the year for the 29-year-old, and the scoreless inning lowers his ERA to 4.75. Congrats to the millions who had Richard Lovelady in their fantasy lineup Thursday.

Lovelady entered the game in the top of the eighth with two outs and the bases loaded to protect a five-run lead. He got Corbin Carroll to ground out to escape the jam, then tossed a clean ninth inning to come away with the save.

Lovelady returns to Tampa Bay’s bullpen for Thursday’s game against the Cardinals following a two-month absence recovering from a left forearm flexor strain. The 29-year-old southpaw holds a lackluster 7.36 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 6/1 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings (eight appearances) this season for the Rays.

Lovelady heads to the injured list after posting an inflated 7.36 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 6/1 K/BB ratio across 7 1/3 innings (eight appearances) since being acquired last month in a trade with the Cubs. The 28-year-old lefty figures to miss at least a couple weeks. There should be some clarity on his return timeline soon. There’s reason for concern here since he missed the final few months of last season with an elbow issue.

The Rays acquired Lovelady from the Cubs on Saturday and will now add him to the active roster. It seems a curious move on the surface for the Rays since Lovelady has a 7.94 ERA in 5 2/3 innings on the year and a 5.48 career ERA. They also demoted Manuel Rodriguez, who was having a strong year, to make room for Lovelady; however, the Rays have earned some leeway when it comes to adding relievers.

Rodríguez posted a 2.79 ERA with nine strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings this season but will be sent down to the minors to make room for Richard Lovelady. Rodríguez will likely be back up in the near future.

Lovelady heads to Tampa Bay in a small trade just a few days after being jettisoned from Chicago’s 40-man roster. The 28-year-old southpaw made seven relief appearances this season for the Cubs and figures to pitch in middle relief for Tampa Bay.