The Philadelphia Phillies are back on top of the NL East just weeks after their improbable 5.5 game deficit to the New York Mets. The Phillies and Mets faced off in a three-game weekend set at Citizens Bank Park, and it led to three convincing wins, per MLB.com's Paul Casella, two of which the Phillies secured with relative ease.
A lot was beaten into the heads of baseball fans about how special this Mets team is, with Juan Soto signing the richest deal in sports history. But every team still gets their humbling moment and the Phillies took pleasure in handing that out, leading their rivals to make a desperate and sad move overall with their signing of Richard Lovelady on Monday, per Robert Murray of FanSided.
Free-agent pitcher Richard Lovelady and the New York Mets are in agreement on a major-league contract, sources say. Lovelady recently opted out of a minor-league contract with the Twins.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) June 23, 2025
Mets bullpen signing looks desperate after recent tailspin that Phillies helped extend
The mighty Mets with all of Steve Cohen's money to go along with the Lindors and Sotos of the world, still may be the little brother to the Phillies after all. They're talented, but signing Lovelady reeks of desperation and a lack of answers from a team that's touted as one of the best in the league.
Lovelady was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in January and played with them through spring training. Some Phillies fans may remember him as the guy who missed his spot pretty badly and plunked Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper.
He was later released in April and then picked up by the Minnesota Twins on a minor-league deal until his release again in June. That's when the Mets came in to save him, per MLB.com's Anthony DiComo. They saw the 21.60 ERA and paid no mind to the issue staring them in the face. Even with the small sample size of just 1 2/3 innings in 2025, his career 5.26 ERA and 1.347 WHIP doesn't project a diamond-in-the-rough kind of player either.
MLB teams go through their rough stretches, but the Mets must be delirious after losing nine of their last 10 games to make a move like this. Their starting pitching surprisingly carried them this far, still leading baseball with a 3.18 ERA. Since June 1, that ERA has risen to 3.96 and has them falling back down to earth. During that span, the Phillies and their stacked rotation lead the way in starter ERA with 2.83.
The Phillies still have issues with their own bullpen, ranking 25th with a 4.63 ERA, while the Mets sit fourth-best at 3.29. The Phillies know their problem, but with how much work it'll take Lovelady to be a serviceable relief arm, the Mets could fall. Since June 1, the Phillies rank 22nd with a 4.50 bullpen ERA and the Mets at 23rd with a 4.54 bullpen ERA.