The Blue Jays have sent left-hander Richard Lovelady outright to Triple-A Buffalo, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. That indicates he cleared waivers after being designated for assignment a few days ago.
Lovelady, 29, has the right to elect free agency but it’s unclear if he will do so. Players with at least three years of major league service time, such as Lovelady, have that right. However, a player needs at least five years of service in order to both elect free agency and retain whatever money is still owed to him on his contract. Lovelady is just barely over the three-year line, meaning he’d have to walk away from his current contract if he heads to the open market.
It’s unclear what sort of financial decision he’s weighing. He signed a minor league deal with the Jays in the winter and was added to the 40-man prior to Opening Day. His major league salary on that deal hasn’t been publicly reported.
If he reports to Buffalo, he’ll give the Jays some non-roster depth. His brief time on their major league roster didn’t go well, as he allowed four earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. But his career track record is better than that. Overall, he has 101 innings in the majors with a 21.2% strikeout rate and 8.7% walk rate. Both of those numbers are close to league averages but his 50.2% ground ball rate is a few ticks better than par.
This has all resulted in a 5.26 earned run average but perhaps with some bad luck in there. His .301 batting average on balls in play and 65% strand rate are both on the unfortunate side of normal. That’s perhaps why his 4.32 FIP and 4.04 SIERA look far nicer than his ERA.
The Jays currently have Brendon Little and Mason Fluharty as the lefties in their bullpen. Josh Walker is on the 40-man but on optional assignment. As the season rolls along, injuries will pop up or the bullpen will get taxed during busy parts of the schedule. If Lovelady accepts his assignment and he performs well in Buffalo, the Jays could call him back up at some point. If he decides to head to free agency, he will likely be limited to minor league offers from other clubs.