The Tampa Bay Rays placed right-hander Zack Littell on the 15-day injured list on Saturday due to fatigue in his right shoulder.

The move was retroactive to Thursday. In a corresponding move, the Rays recalled left-hander Tyler Alexander from Triple-A Durham.

Littell, 28, is in his first season as a full-time major league starter. He is 5-8 with a 3.89 ERA in 129⅔ innings this season, including 26 walks, 116 strikeouts and a major league-high 144 hits allowed through Friday.

Given the workload, the Rays pulled Littell from his final game on Wednesday after throwing 68 pitches against the Houston Astros. Littell allowed one hit (a home run), one run and two walks and struck out three in five innings, and played no role in the Astros’ 2-1 victory.

“I mean, we all know where he is in terms of innings this year,” manager Kevin Cash said Wednesday night.

Littell has a career record of 21-19 with three saves and a 4.02 ERA in 389⅓ innings over 197 games (42 starts) in parts of seven seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2018-20), San Francisco Giants (2021-22), Boston Red Sox (2023) and Rays (2023-present).

Alexander, 30, is 5-3 with a 5.20 ERA, 16 walks and 63 strikeouts in 71 innings over 15 games (six starts) for Tampa Bay this season. He has pitched for the Detroit Tigers for the past five seasons, where he is 11-23 with a 4.38 ERA, 74 walks and 273 strikeouts in 341⅓ innings over 120 games (43 starts).

The Associated Press contributed to this article.