NY Mets lose the one free agent they did re-sign and fans couldn’t be happier

You’ll get vertigo trying to spin the decision to keep Richard Lovelady. Yeah, he has some good qualities. He gets ground balls and his sweeper was pretty good last year. It won’t convince too many New York Mets fans to light a candle in his honor.

Lovelady was DFA’d recently and failed to pass through waivers. The Washington Nationals couldn’t resist adding yet another ex-Mets player to their roster. Following up on their waiver claim of infielder Tsung-Che Cheng and free agent signing of Bryce Montes de Oca, they’ve quickly become a team featuring several players with a Mets link.

Cheng didn’t excite anyone. Montes de Oca is one of those “if only he could have stayed healthy” types of players. Lovelady, in an 8-game sample, was one of those relievers who came through Queens that fans cringed seeing. It’s a shame because he could have been a lot of fun.

The Dickie Lovelady adventure never came to fruition

With a name like Dickie Lovelady, how can you not give him a chance? The Mets gave him two, signing him twice as a free agent in the regular season and a third time in October. He’s literally the only free agent the team managed to re-sign.

Depending on how you look at it, Lovelady was either worse or better than the results show. He never gave up more than 2 earned runs in an outing. We can probably thank Carlos Mendoza for having a quick hook. Consecutive games of allowing 2 earned versus the Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates to begin his Mets tenure, he scattered the remaining ones in his final 6 appearances. The timing of Lovelady’s games when he wasn’t left unscathed might be one of the reasons why it felt worse. No one could do right in late June when he first appeared. It wasn’t any better in September when the Mets were losing to the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs.

Eager for some kind of rhyme that would help us reminisce about Jose Iglesias, fans accepted Lovelady immediately without knowing much about his career. He has always been a joy to see pop up simply for his unique last name. It seems ripped right out of the world of James Bond or maybe Austin Powers.

Lovelady landing with the Nationals only makes it better for those elated at the loss. If he makes the team, the Mets will have additional chances to face him. They better take advantage.

When the Mets signed Lovelady they inked him to a split contract with the purpose of maybe passing him through waivers more easily. It didn’t work out. Other lefties stashed on the depth chart suddenly become a little more valuable. With A.J. Minter likely unavailable to begin the year, a second lefty will have an opportunity to step in.