Twins Sign Left-Handed Pitcher Richard Lovelady, Assign Him To St. Paul

ST. PAUL, MN (April 8, 2025) - The Minnesota Twins have announced the signing of left-handed pitcher Richard Lovelady to a minor league contract. The six-year major league veteran has been assigned to the St. Paul Saints roster and will join the club ahead of their homestand starting on Tuesday against the Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals).

Lovelady, 29, has already pitched in two games this season with the Toronto Blue Jays after making their Opening Day roster. He recorded two outs in a scoreless appearance on March 27 against the Orioles before conceding four runs in an inning of work two days later. He was designated for assignment on March 30 and later outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo before electing free agency, a right he had because of his minimum three years of MLB service time.

A former 10th round draft pick by the Royals, Lovelady has now spent parts of six of the last seven seasons in the major leagues since debuting with Kansas City in 2019. He spent the first seven years of his pro career in the Royals system before stints with Atlanta, Oakland, Tampa Bay, and Toronto organizations, all of which included time spent in the majors, save for the Braves. In 2024, he combined for a career-high 34.1 innings in The Show with the Cubs and the Rays, striking out 26 (an 18% K-rate) and walking 11 (7 BB%) over the course of 34.1 innings in which he accrued a 4.46 ERA as a reliever. All 110 of his career Big League appearances and 101.0 innings have been in relief.

This year will mark Lovelady’s seventh season of his 10-year professional career spent at the Triple-A level. He owns a career 2.88 ERA with 152 punchouts (27 K%) and just 37 walks (7 BB%) across 137.2 innings as a Triple-A arm. In 2018, he was named Triple-A Omaha’s Pitcher of the Year after going 3-3, 2.47 ERA (20 ER, 73.0 IP) with 71 strikeouts (25 K%) across 46 appearances with the Storm Chasers. That year, he ranked second among Pacific Coast League relievers in opponent batting average (.204) and allowed three home runs the entire season, a 0.37 HR/9 average, that included a 41.0 inning streak without allowing a ball to leave the yard against him over his final 24 outings of the season from June 14-Sept 3.

Lovelady is a product of Kennesaw State University, where he pitched his lone season of Division I baseball as a junior in 2016. That year, he ranked third in the NCAA in appearances (37), finishing with a 4-3 record and a 2.96 ERA with four saves for the Owls.

The Saints roster stands at the league maximum of 28, 15 pitchers, 13 position players, and six players on the injured list.