Nats activate Richard Lovelady from injured list

The 31-year-old southpaw has been shelved since the end of June due to a triceps strain. He has finally made tangible strides toward a return to the Nationals’ bullpen though and after a couple of appearances in a minor league setting, he could be ready to be activated by the end of next week.

Nothing has changed in the recovery timeline for Lovelady, who is shelved indefinitely with a left triceps strain. This move was done as a procedural move to open up a spot on the team’s 40-man roster for the addition of Matt Krook on Sunday.

Lovelady has taken a step back since his hot stretch with the Nationals back in May, but he has a solid 3.86 ERA and four saves in 30 1/3 innings this season for both the Nationals and Mets.

Lovelady got the call to face pinch-hitter Derek Hill in the final frame after Orlando Ribalta issued a two-out walk to Kyle Schwarber after a 10-pitch battle that put the tying run on-base. The 30-year-old southpaw wound up surrendering a go-ahead blast to Hill with two strikes that saddled him with both a blown save and a loss. Clayton Beeter is probably Washington’s best ninth-inning option, but he’s had his struggles recently as well. Things continue to be a mess in close ballgames for the Nationals bullpen.

After pitching relatively well in his tenure with the Nationals, Lovelady has allowed three runs on five hits in one inning over his last two appearances. He can be dropped in most fantasy formats.

Lovelady was summoned in the ninth inning with a two-run lead to close out the game against the Braves. Despite Gus Vardland being available, Lovelady got the call to face the heart of the Atlanta order, which featured two left-handed hitters in Michael Harris II and Matt Olson. He tossed a clean frame, striking out one for his fourth save. It seems the 30-year-old left-hander is firmly in the saves mix on a matchup basis.

That’s not ideal for anybody with Lovelady on their team. Now that Clayton Beeter is back, the nationals may no longer be looking at Lovelady as a late inning option. He’ll face a really dangerous top of the Atlanta order on Friday, so we would remove him from your lineups if you can.

Beeter has been sidelined since April 26th due to forearm soreness, but all his imaging came back clean. He began a rehab assignment last week and is now ready to return to his late-inning role. Before the injury, Beeter had posted a 3.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and a 9/8 K/BB ratio over his first 10 1/3 innings while notching a pair of saves. Since he has been hurt, Richard Lovelady has recorded three saves and been a solid late-innings option for the Nationals as well. It would be likely that the two would form some sort of tandem in the short term.

Revenge is sweet. Lovelady, who has had multiple stints with the Mets and pitched for them earlier this season, shut down his former team on just 10 pitches. The southpaw struck out Carson Benge swinging to end it. Despite some shaky control, Loveland has emerged as a key piece in the Nationals’ bullpen with a 2.03 ERA over 13 appearances. It’s worth noting that Gus Varland threw two innings on Monday and was unavailable, but Lovelady is giving Blake Butera an alternative for save chances.

The plan originally was for Andrew Alvarez to go four and piggyback off Zack Littell, but Alvarez allowed a single and walk to start the ninth inning. Gus Varland, the closer in name if not in results, walked Leodys Taveras, struck out Coby Mayo, and allowed a sacrifice fly to get the Nationals to two outs. Then the Nationals summoned Lovelady to deal with lefty-hitting Gunnar Henderson. Henderson singled to bring the Orioles within a run, and after a Taylor Ward walk loaded the bases, the lefty was able to freeze Adley Rutschman on the outside corner to end the game. Varland still looks like the closer to roster in this pen in fantasy leagues, but the Nationals don’t really have a good answer right now.