The New York Mets‘ roster is currently missing left-hander A.J. Minter, who is sidelined with a lat injury, but the club reunited with a veteran reliever to bolster the bullpen with Opening Day less than two weeks away.
Left-hander Richard Lovelady is back with the Mets, the team announced. The organization claimed him off waivers from the Washington Nationals. Right-hander Justin Hagenman was placed on the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster for Lovelady.
The veteran’s departure from the squad only lasted about a month. Lovelady closed the 2025 campaign on the Mets’ roster, but was designated for assignment in January. The Nats scooped him up, but designated him for assignment themselves to make room for free agent addition Zack Littell.
New York Mets Roster Includes Richard Lovelady Once Again
Lovelady has spent parts of six big-league seasons with a half dozen teams. He debuted for the Kansas City Royals in 2019. He made brief stops with the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays before landing with the Mets. Lovelady has compiled a 5.35 ERA across 111 innings at the highest level.
The Royals grabbed Lovelady in the 10th round of the 2016 draft. He was excellent in the Kansas City minor league system, beginning with a sterling 1.80 in Rookie Ball as a 20-year-old. The lefty made the jump to High-A in 2017, then advanced to Double-A later in the year. Lovelady put up a 1.62 ERA in 42 games between the two levels. He also notched a career-best 10 saves. The reliever tossed a career-high 73 innings the following year at Triple-A. Lovelady repeated the level in 2019 and pitched well enough to earn a big-league call-up.
Lovelady has taken a slider-heavy approach during his time in the majors. His arsenal also includes a four-seam fastball, sinker, and sweeper. Lovelady’s heater tops out in the low-90s, but he makes up for it with tremendous extension. The lefty ranked in the 98th percentile for extension this past season. His strikeout numbers have never been impressive, but Lovelady has a well-above-average 52.6% groundball rate in his career. He keeps free passes at an average rate, though he struggles at times with hard contact.
Will Richard Lovelady Replace A.J. Minter on the Mets Roster?
Minter is set to miss the start of the season after undergoing lat surgery. He joined the Mets last season after several years of solid production with the divisional-rival Atlanta Braves. The lefty delivered a 1.64 ERA with a strong 31.8% strikeout rate across 13 games before the injury. His absence leaves a left-handed void in the bullpen.
Veteran Brooks Raley is the only southpaw who’s secured a bullpen spot after posting a 2.45 ERA with 10 holds this past year. The Mets traded for southpaw Bryan Hudson in a deal with the Chicago White Sox. He scuffled to a 5.79 ERA with the club last season, but had provided decent numbers with the Milwaukee Brewers in previous years. The Mets also had non-roster invitees Nate Lavender, Matt Turner, Joe Jacques, and Anderson Severino in big-league camp this spring, though none were legitimate threats to earn roster spots.
Mets Add Veteran Reliever to Roster with Key Lefty Injured