Colorado Rockies

Despite his lackluster numbers, the Colorado Rockies drafted him in the 16th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft,^[3] two picks ahead of pitcher Steve Edlefsen.^[4] He was signed by scout Gary Wilson. He was 1–0 with two runs (one earned) in 6 2/3 innings pitched for the Casper Rockies that year and was released following the season.

San Francisco Giants

He signed with the independent San Angelo Colts of the United Baseball League for 2008, pitching 11 games and earning four saves, posting a 2.13 ERA and striking out 18 batters in 12 2/3 innings before signing a contract with the San Francisco Giants partway through the year. To finish the year, he pitched for the AZL Giants, allowing no runs in 2 2/3 innings, and Augusta Greenjackets, going 1–0 with a 1.42 ERA in 10 games. Overall, he had a 1.61 mark in 23 games. 2009 was split between Augusta, with whom he allowed 9 runs in 17 2/3 frames, the San Jose Giants (5.23 ERA in 16 games) and the Connecticut Defenders, with whom he had a 0.70 ERA in 14 games. Overall, he had a 3.23 mark in 43 games. He spent 2010 with Augusta (going 4–2 with a save and a 4.89 ERA in 24 games) and the Richmond Flying Squirrels (going 2–4 with three saves and a 3.90 ERA in 23 games). He had a 4.41 ERA in 47 games overall. In 2011, he had a 2.14 ERA^[5] with nine saves in 56 appearances between San Jose and Richmond and in 2012, his first year at Triple-A Fresno, he was 8–4 with a 2.99 ERA in 47 relief appearances. He converted to starting pitching for 2013, going 7–5 with a 4.72 ERA in 30 games (20 starts) for Fresno. With the Navegantes del Magallanes during the Venezuelan Winter League, he went 6–1 with a 1.46 ERA and won Pitcher of the Year.^[6][7]

In late 2013, he adopted a windmill windup—rare in modern baseball, but reminiscent of players like Satchel Paige and Bob Feller—which he used through 2014.^[8] He began the 2014 campaign in the Giants system, but after posting a 5.08 ERA in 22 games (15 starts) for Fresno, he was released.

Washington Nationals

In late July, the Nationals signed Lively and assigned him to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. He was 5–2 with a 3.86 ERA in 9 games (7 starts) for them and 11–6 with a 4.72 ERA in 31 games overall. He also averaged 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings. After being granted free agency in November, the Nationals re-signed him to a minor league contract on December 16.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

Lively was released by the Nationals at the end of the 2015 season, when he went to play for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters of the Pacific League in Japan. He made 16 appearances for the Fighters (all in relief), pitched 18 2/3 innings, didn't have a decision, had an ERA of 5.30, struck out 22.

Mexican Baseball (2016–present)

Chinatrust / CTBC Brothers

Lively signed with the Chinatrust Brothers of Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League for the 2018 season.^[17] His record was 7–8, 4.05 ERA, and 119 strikeouts. In December 2018, he re-signed with the Brothers for the 2019 season.^[18] In 2019, Lively posted a 10–11 record with a 3.23 ERA and 140 strikeouts over 167 innings. He re-signed with the team, now named the CTBC Brothers, for the 2020 season.^[19] Lively pitched to a 6–1 record with a 3.94 ERA and 36 strikeouts before a shoulder injury ended his season prematurely in July. Lively again re-signed with the club for the 2021 season.^[20] However, he struggled to an 8.35 ERA and 1.88 WHIP over 36 innings, and was released by the team on July 22, 2021.^[21]