The Rays announced Tuesday that they’ve designated left-hander Richard Lovelady for assignment. His spot on the 40-man roster will go to outfielder Jake Mangum, whose contract has been selected. Mangum’s selection to the roster protects him from next month’s Rule 5 Draft.
Lovelady, 29, split the 2024 season between the Cubs and Rays, struggling with the former but pitching pretty well for the latter. The southpaw gave Tampa Bay 28 2/3 innings of 3.77 ERA ball, albeit with a sub-par 16.8% strikeout rate. Lovelady’s 7.6% walk rate and 53.5% ground-ball rate were both strong marks, however, and the lefty has long shown an interesting blend of missed bats and grounders to go along with solid command. In 99 1/3 big league innings, Lovelady has a 21.1% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate and 50.9% grounder rate. He’s still been tagged for a 4.98 earned run average, thanks in large part to a 66% strand rate, but metrics like xFIP (4.27) and SIERA (4.02) have been more bullish than ERA.
The Rays will have a week to trade Lovelady or attempt to pass him through waivers. They can also non-tender him before Friday and cut him right from the roster without first exposing him to any form of waivers — the only time of year clubs are able to do so. He’s out of minor league options, so any club that acquires Lovelady would need to carry him on the 40-man roster to open the season. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected Lovelady for a $900K salary in 2025. He’s controllable through the 2027 season.
Mangum, 28, came to the Rays as the player to be named later in the deal that sent utilityman Vidal Brujan and righty Calvin Faucher to the Marlins. He spent the 2024 season in Triple-A, where he slashed .317/.357/.442 with six homers and 20 steals in 428 turns at the plate. Mangum is a switch-hitter with good speed, strong bat-to-ball skills and the ability to play all three outfield spots. He’ll likely get an opportunity to make his MLB debut in a fourth-outfielder role with the Rays in 2025.