Baseball, like most professional sports, is a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately experience. Players can go from beloved fan favorites to the most hated name on the team in the blink of an eye, as one poor performance can be all a team needs to designate someone for assignment. That's just the nature of Major League Baseball.
Atlanta Braves fans have seen plenty of familiar faces DFA'd throughout the season's first three months, whether they were still with Atlanta or a different organization. Interestingly enough, another ex-Brave was just kicked to the curb after putting pen to paper on a new contract earlier this week.
Former Braves LHP Richard Lovelady DFA'd 2 Days After Signing with Mets
On Wednesday afternoon, Newsday's Laura Albanese reported that the New York Mets have DFA'd former Braves left-handed pitcher Richard Lovelady. The decision comes only two days after the 29-year-old southpaw signed an MLB contract with the NL East club. Interestingly enough, Atlanta likely played a big role in his unemployment status.
After inking his new deal, Lovelady made his Mets debut against the Braves on Tuesday. He ended up allowing two earned runs and a pair of walks across 1 2/3 innings in the 7-4 loss to his former club, which was all New York needed to see to be convinced that he doesn't belong in the bullpen.
Between his short stints with the Mets and Toronto Blue Jays, Lovelady now sits at a putrid 16.20 ERA in three starts (3 1/3 innings) this season.
Being DFA'd by the Mets is the latest bump on the rocky road known as Lovelady's MLB career. The former Kennesaw State product has now pitched for six teams since the start of the 2019 campaign, with four of those clubs coming in the last two seasons. He owns a 5-13 record and 5.35 ERA through 111 relief appearances throughout his career.
Atlanta fans might not remember much from Lovelady's brief stint with the franchise. The Kansas City Royals traded him to the Braves in exchange for cash in March 2023, leading to his going 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA in four relief outings with Triple-A Gwinnett before being claimed off waivers by the Athletics less than a month later.
Teams are constantly looking to shake up their pitching situation as the MLB season progresses, meaning Lovelady will likely get a new opportunity before the year is over. Having said that, the ex-Braves hurler's options could be limited if he doesn't find a way to prove that his arm can be reliable on the mound.