Excuse for how the NY Mets are using Richard Lovelady isn’t good enough

Southpaw Richard Lovelady is back with the New York Mets this year after a rough stretch with the team last year, much to the chagrin of fans. He first signed with the club last year on a minor league deal and turned in an ugly 6.30 ERA across ten innings of work. When Lovelady was designated for assignment back in January, it was easy to chalk his stint with the Mets up to a failed experiment and move on.

Flash forward to spring training, however, and president of baseball operations David Stearns made the shocking decision to claim him off waivers when he was cut by the lowly Nationals. Lovelady wasn't able to earn a spot on the rebuilding team's roster, but five good innings this spring were enough to convince Stearns to grant him a spot on his Opening Day roster this year.

It's a decision that hasn't gone well. Lovelady has made three appearances so far, each of which has resulted in him letting at least one run cross the plate on his watch. Overall, he has a 4.50 ERA in four innings of work with six hits (including one homer) and four walks (one intentional) allowed against four strikeouts. That all adds up to a ghastly 6.65 FIP and offers little reason for confidence in the 30-year-old moving forward.

The Mets had other, better options than returning to Richard Lovelady

The best argument for Lovelady's inclusion on this roster is that he offers manager Carlos Mendoza a second short-inning relief lefty in the bullpen behind Brooks Raley. The problem with that logic, however, is that it's not actually how Lovelady has been deployed so far. Of the 20 match-ups Lovelady has faced so far this year, just seven were against hitters batting from the left side. Given that five of those lefty match-ups were during a two-inning appearance where the Mets were trailing in the late innings, it's clear at this point that Mendoza is simply using Lovelady as a low-leverage innings eater and someone to deploy only when no other options are viable.

The problem with that is, there are better options for long relief available to the Mets right now. That's even true when ignoring Sean Manaea, who is already a left-handed long reliever for the Mets this year after his tough 2025 season. Austin Warren and Joey Gerber both are already on the 40-man roster and had success with the Mets in a multi-inning role last year. Even veteran Carl Edwards Jr. is on a minor league deal with the club and looked great over 8 1/3 spring training innings.

None of those pitchers are left-handed, but with Manaea already on the roster it makes little sense to roster Lovelady just for his handedness if he isn't producing and doesn't have the confidence from the manager needed to pitch against lefties in key moments. If the Mets want another long reliever, they should replace Lovelady with a more capable one from the minors.