Pair of former Royals relievers set to test free agent market this winter

While the baseball world is fixated on the current MLB Postseason, there’s still plenty going on elsewhere, as a majority of the major leagues as well as the minor leagues gear up for the 2026 season.

MLB free agency won’t begin until five days after the World Series, but the minor league open market has already opened and multiple former big leaguers have opted to test the open waters already.

As Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors accurately put it, any former MLB player that was outrighted off of their teams 40-man rosters during the season without being added back and also have multiple outrights in their career or have at least three years of MLB service time qualify for MiLB free agency.

Over 20 former big leaguers fit this bill and elected MiLB free agency this week, including two names that Royals fans will be familiar with.

Former Royals Scott Blewett and Richard Lovelady elect minor league free agency

If you look back to the Royals bullpens between 2019 and 2021, you’ll find that both Blewett and Lovelady played roles and some point or another.

Back in 2019, these were two arms that held promise in the Royals’ farm system, ranking 15th and 16th respectively according to MLB Pipeline, but as you can see by their minor league free agent status, things haven’t exactly gone to plan for either of them.

Blewett would make three separate stops in the major leagues this season, pitching for the Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves and Baltimore Orioles.

In 44.1 combined innings in 26 outings across these three stops, Blewett threw to a 5.48 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and .257 BAA. And in his limited time in the minor leagues this season – in Minnesota and Baltimore’s Triple-A ranks – he looked uninspiring, tossing to a 9.35 ERA, 2.19 WHIP and .400 BAA in 8.2 innings.

As a Royals reliever, he’d only briefly find himself in the majors with them, throwing 3.0 innings of 6.00 ERA ball in 2020 and then just 5.0 innings at a 1.80 ERA in 2021.

Lovelady on the other hand, was more of a fixture in the late-2010s and early-2020s Royals’ bullpens.

The southpaw would make his Kansas City debut in 2019 and go on to pitch 20.0 innings of 7.65 ERA ball. Then after just an inning of work in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he’d return in 2021 and look at his best with the club, tossing to a 3.48 ERA across 20.2 innings.

Fast-forward now to 2025 and Lovelady found himself on the Toronto Blue Jays’ Opening Day roster. That however was short-lived as before the month of March was over, Lovelady woukd be designated for assignment by the Jays after just an 1.2 innings of work – where he threw to astronomically high 21.60 ERA.

He’d then spend time in the Minnesota Twins’ Triple-A ranks, much like Blewett, but would test his luck on the open market and eventually land an off-and-on gig with the New York Mets in June. In his time in the Big Apple, Lovelady would post a 6.30 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and .250 BAA in 10.0 innings of work across eight outings.

He’d spend most of his time in Triple-A this season where he looked impressive, throwing to a 1.66 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and .199 BAA in 38.0 innings of work between St. Paul and Syracuse.

Now the search is on for both Blewett and Lovelady to see if there’s another major league opportunity around the corner for them this winter.