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Royals trade LHP Richard Lovelady to Braves for cash

Royals Cardinals Baseball
Posted at 9:37 AM, Mar 30, 2023
and last updated 2023-03-30 11:04:18-04

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Less than six hours before the start of the 2023 season, the Kansas City Royals shipped out a left-handed reliever.

The Royals traded Richard Lovelady, 27, to Atlanta for an undisclosed amount of cash, the team announced Thursday morning.

Lovelady, a Georgia native, originally joined Kansas City as a 10th-round pick in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft from Kennesaw State University.

He reached the big leagues in 2019, but has struggled to remain healthy during the last three-plus seasons, going 2-3 with a 5.62 ERA in 46 appearances.

Lovelady, who didn’t make an appearance with the big-league club in 2022, has struck out 40 with 15 walks in 41 2/3 innings with the Royals.

He posted a 2.74 ERA in more than 200 innings across six minor-league seasons.

Kansas City opens the 2023 season at 3:10 p.m. Thursday against Minnesota at Kauffman Stadium.