Driveline Baseball has revealed that free-agent reliever Richard Lovelady has signed a contract with the Cubs. Lovelady used his own X account to confirm the news. Presumably, it’s a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Additionally, right-hander Sam McWilliams and Chicago reached a minor league agreement Wednesday afternoon, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
The 28-year-old southpaw Lovelady has pitched in portions of four Major League seasons. A former Royals 10th-round selection, he made his Kansas City debut in 2019. Between 2019 and 20—26 appearances—Lovelady failed; but, in 2021, she put up a strong small-sample performance. That year, he pitched 20 2/3 innings with a 3.48 ERA. Lovelady ran a great 56.6% grounder percentage and struck out an above-average 27.2% of opponents.
Sadly, an injury ended his tenure in Kansas City. His throwing elbow had a UCL injury, which led to Tommy John surgery. After spending the next season recovering, he was dealt to the Braves during spring training of the previous year. Lovelady was attempted to be waived by Atlanta in mid-April, but he never played in Major League Baseball. In order stake a claim, the A’s moved in.
Mark Kotsay, the manager of Oakland, made 27 calls to Lovelady. The product from Kennesaw State gave up 4.63 earned runs every nine. He struck out 25% of opponents while grounding balls at a rate of 47.5%. While those are acceptable peripherals, they are less than the figures he displayed in 2021. Before the surgery, his average fastball speed was in the 93 MPH level; it was now only about 91 MPH. He only slightly decreased his slider velocity from 86.6 to 85.9 MPH, so the drop wasn’t as noticeable.
Lovelady’s season and, eventually, his time with the team were cut short by injuries once more. He was declared to have a pronator strain in his forearm and was sidelined around the All-Star Break. Lovelady was on the injured list at the end of the year. At the end of the season, Oakland waived him, making him a free agent in the minor leagues.
A video of Lovelady throwing a recent bullpen session at their training facility was included by Driveline. That seems to indicate he’ll be ready for game action this spring and is a good sign for the health of his arm. There aren’t many left-handed bullpen options in Chicago. Drew Smyly, who had trouble as a starter, is probably moved into relief. The only other lefty relievers on the 40-man roster are Luke Little and Bailey Horn, neither of whom has much experience in Major League Baseball.
Throughout his career, McWilliams, 28, has been a member of the Padres and Mets 40-man rosters. His big league debut is still pending. He was not given a look in the majors due to extremely high walk rates in the upper minors. The 6-foot-7 pitcher missed the previous campaign and is back in the Mexican Winter League this year. There, he had a 3.55 ERA over 25 1/3 innings pitched, a 28.4% strikeout rate, and a 13.7% walk rate.
