Braves Add Bullpen Depth with Trade for Royals Lefty

Former Kennesaw State Owl and Georgia native Richard Lovelady acquired by Atlanta and optioned to Gwinnett

As part of a flurry of moves in advance of today's season-opener in DC, the Braves have taken a flier on the tastefully-named Richard Lovelady, a southpaw reliever drafted by Kansas City in the tenth round out of Kennesaw State back in 2016.

The #Braves yesterday acquired LHP Richard Lovelady from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for cash considerations, and optioned him to Triple-A Gwinnett.

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) March 30, 2023

Lovelady, who is 27, made eight appearances in spring training for the Royals and didn't issue a walk or allow an earned run while tallying ten strikeouts. Previously, he appeared in 46 games across the 2019-2021 season for KC, where he pitched to a tune of a 5.62 ERA and a 4.37 FIP. He was most effective, it should be noted, in his most recent MLB season, 2021, where his ERA and FIP dipped to 3.48 and 3.85 respectively.

He missed most of last season, only making four total minor league appearances, while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Lovelady is a low-90s fastball guy with a very high spin-rate on his slider. He'll start the season with Gwinnett, but he has been added to the 40-man roster. The club cleared space yesterday by transferring injured pitchers Kolby Allard, Tyler Matzek, and Huascar Ynoa to the 60-day IL.

Lovelady is yet another Georgia native in the organization. As well as playing at Kennesaw State, he also attended East Georgia State College in Swainsboro and is a native of Hinesville, both of which are towns in southeastern Georgia, near the Atlantic coast.

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