This morning, the Mets made two roster moves. Southpaw Richard Lovelady has joined the club on a one-year contract. Lefty Colin Poche was designated for assignment to make room for Lovelady on the 40-man and active rosters.
Lovelady returns to the Mets after being designated for assignment by the club last week and choosing free agency immediately after. The 29-year-old has pitched in portions of six Major League Baseball seasons but has failed to achieve sustained success.
Lovelady, who has a career 5.35 ERA in 102 2/3 innings, allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings this year with the Blue Jays and Mets, walking four and striking out four. It’s not a particularly inspiring profile, but Lovelady has always been regarded as an intriguing, high-ceiling arm due to his quality left-handed play. He’s shown signs of that promise in the past, most recently pitching to a 3.77 ERA in 28 2/3 innings for the Rays last season.
Poche, who had previously achieved significant success as a member of the Rays organization, is making room on the roster for Lovelady. He had a good 3.27 ERA in 156 2/3 innings of work for Tampa Bay from 2022 to 2024, however his peripherals were ordinary in two of those three years. His 2023 was totally dominant, with a fantastic 2.23 ERA, a 24.8% strikeout rate, and a barrel rate of only 5.6%, however he did walk opponents at a high 9.8% rate. However, those metrics declined last year, and as a result, the Rays did not tender him this summer.
Since being non-tendered, Poche has signed with the Nationals and the Mets, but has struggled with both clubs. Poche had 13 appearances in Washington, but left with 12 runs (11 earned) allowed in just 8 2/3 innings, walking 12 batters and striking out 10. His time with the Mets was much briefer, as he made only one appearance and allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning of work, walking two and striking out one.
The Mets now have one week to either work out a trade for Poche or send him through waivers, at which point he will have the option of accepting an outright assignment to the minors or opting for free agency. Despite his troubles with command this year, Poche’s earlier success with the Rays may keep him on the radar of major league clubs, but it appears that he will be limited to lower league agreements until he can improve.
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