Nationals Add Lefty Lovelady, Move Waldichuk

0:00It's April 17th. This is MLB News Today Baseball Coverage, powered by AI. Washington Nationals just picked up lefty-riched love lady from the Mets for some cash considerations. To clear space on the 40-man roster, they moved Ken Waldechuk to the 60-day injured list he slated for Tommy John's surgery. Mets had designated love lady for assignment over the weekend. Love lady actually trained with the Nats this spring, but got claimed off waivers by New York right before opening day, marking his fourth go-round with the Mets in a year. He stuck on their roster and tossed 7-1-3 relief innings, giving up 3 earned runs for 3.68 ERA with 8 hits, 4 walks, and 6 strikeouts. This 30-year-old vet now hits his 7th big league team, including Stints with the Royals, A's, Rays, Cubs, and Blue Jays. He's got a 5.25 career ERA over 118 and 1-3rd innings, strong ground ball rate above 50% and strikeout.

1:00And what numbers close to league average? Down in AAA across 7 seasons, he's dominated with a 2.61 ERA and shark control. Nationals bullpans hurting for lefty help, with Sinel Perez posting an 8.22 ERA in 7 and 2-3rds innings, PJ Polaine at 4. 5.0 with more walks than whiffs in 8 frames, and Mitchell Parker lately recalled. Both Perez and Love Lady are out of minor league options, so he's jumping straight to the majors. Love Lady's bounced around enough to rack up over 3 years of service time, despite light MLB workload, keeping clubs interested for that potential. 4-year mark by 2026. Watch how he slots into Washington's relief mix as they chase stability.