Richard Lovelady traded to Atlanta

Just hours before Opening Day festivities could officially commence, the Royals made the first of what is sure to be a flurry of transactions as they complete the first configuration of their 26-man roster for the 2023 season. Richard Lovelady was sent to Atlanta for cash considerations.

As noted by beat writer Anne Rogers in the above tweet, the trade of Lovelady opens up a much-needed 40-man roster spot as the team has decided to add Non-Roster Invitees Matt Duffy, Franmil Reyes, and Jackie Bradley Jr. to the team. The other two spots could be opened up by placing outfielder Diego Hernandez and pitcher Jake Brentz on the 60-Day Injured List or they might release or trade some other players.

Richard Lovelady leaped onto Royals fans’ radars in 2018 when he completed his season at Omaha with a sparkling 2.47 ERA. Unfortunately, he never seemed able to grab consistent time with the Royals. He had some consistency issues early on that seemed to color all future interactions with the team and led to him bouncing back and forth between the big league club and the minor leagues. He also had some injury concerns and missed all of last season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Lovelady had an excellent Spring Training in which he didn’t walk a single batter, but still was unable to crack the Opening Day Roster. He expressed frustration in a since-deleted tweet, and it almost seemed inevitable that his time in Kansas City was over.

In an alternate universe, Richard Lovelady becomes a stalwart of the Royals bullpen, a worthy successor to the halcyon HDH days. Unfortunately, we live in this universe and Lovelady will attempt to achieve his big-league dreams in Atlanta, instead.