The wheeling and dealing on the Washington Nationals continued with another waiver claim followed by another DFA
The wheeling and dealing ahead of spring training continued into Thursday for the Washington Nationals with one more in and another on his way out just days after arriving.
The team announced that left hander Richard Lovelady has been claimed off waivers from the New York Mets. With the move, the Nationals also designated utility player Mickey Gasper for assignment to make room.
Gasper was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins just nine days prior to being designated for assignment with the news roughly 24 hours after catcher Riley Adams accepted his assignment to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday.
Lovelady is coming off roughly half a season with the New York Mets after signing a one-year deal back in June 2025, the same day he let it be known he wants to be called "Dicky Lovelady" in the media. He went on to make just eight appearances the rest of the season where he finished with a 6.3 ERA and allowed three home runs and ten hits across ten innings. He joined the Mets after signing minor league deals with first Toronto ahead of the season then with the Minnesota Twins in April 2025.
He began his career with the Kansas City Royals as a tenth round selection in the 2016 draft before making his MLB debut in 2019 and recording 20 appearances in 2021, finishing with a 3.48 ERA with 23 strikeouts against 16 hits and six walks. But his strong season ended that September after undergoing Tommy John surgery, also sidelining him for the 2022 season.
Loveland was then traded to the Atlanta Braves for cash one month into the 2023 season before signing a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs to start the following season. He was then traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in May 2024 in exchange for Jeff Belge where he tossed 20 strikeouts against 25 hits in over 28 innings and 28 appearances.
A versatile reliever, Lovelady is one of 14 Major League lefties to record at least three saves and 15 holds while keeping opponents to a less-than 27 percent inherited runners scored percentage over the last five seasons. Since 2021, Lovelady has inherited 52 runners and allowed just 14 to score (26.9%).
This also marks the latest indication that the Nationals will likely see plenty more moves like this as president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and the rest of the front office continues to tweak and refine the rosters across the farm system ahead of year one. Whether the Nationals end up turning it into a marquee addition like first base and pitching as he hinted following the MacKenzie Gore trade also remains to be seen, though it's evident the roster cleanup is far from over.