The Nationals flew under the radar on Thursday afternoon, trading to get Richard Lovelady back on the roster. The deal with the New York Mets sent the veteran lefty Lovelady back to Washington D.C., where he had played for the Nationals in spring training before being waived. He now comes back to town for cash considerations, providing a long-relief/low-leverage arm to the bullpen.
Trade Details
Nationals Get: RP Richard Lovelady
Mets Get: Cash Considerations
The Nationals have acquired left-handed pitcher Richard Lovelady from the New York Mets in exchange for cash considerations.
— Nationals Communications (@NationalsComms) April 16, 2026
To make room on the 40-man roster left-handed pitcher Ken Waldichuk has been transferred to the 60-day Injured List.
The deal never specified that the Nationals are paying off Lovelady's contract. However, the likely case is that the Nationals are just taking on his 1-year, $1 million contract, plus possibly more money. The trade is the closest thing to a drop by one team and a pickup by another. This secures that the Nationals get Lovelady, avoid waivers, and toss around money to meet CBA demands.
Back on April 12, Ken Waldichuk was placed on the 60-Day IL. Waldichuk made his return from a two-season absence across 2024 and 2025. Quickly, he left a game early due to forearm tightness. The injury is a concern for a player coming off a major injury. Waldichuk has been lost for quite some time, now leaving the Nationals down another reliever, a familiar issue.
The Nationals recently called up guys from Triple-A to join the bullpen. The list of names includes former starting pitcher Mitchell Parker, as well as Orlando Ribalta. The bullpen is a major problem once again, with a team ERA of 6.17 and -2.1 WAR over 84.2 relief innings pitched (about 4.5 innings per game).
Who Is Richard Lovelady?
Lovelady is a 7-year MLB veteran, having pitched for the Royals, Athletics, Mets, and now the Nationals. His career ERA is 5.25 over 124 games and 118.1 IP. Lovelady had appeared in 6 games this season for the Mets, fielding a 3.68 ERA and 4.93 FIP. His WAR generally lingers around 0.0.
The 30-year-old reliever will be a low-leverage option, slotting himself deeper down the depths of the current depth chart. He shall be found in the 5th-7th innings most of the time.
The arsenal of Lovelady will be one of horizontal movement with his left arm, a shallow release angle of 20 degrees. He features a sweeper to his highest percentage, followed closely by a sinker. Lovelady then features a 4-seam fastball and, rarely, a slider. His velocity is below MLB average, but his breaking balls are to MLB average.
Per Statcast, Lovelady does feature a top-2% extension. Otherwise, he excels in barrel rate and ground ball rate, and struggling at all else. The hope will be that Blake Butera can use his analytical mind to bring in Lovelady at the best points possible in-game.
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