11:55 am: Littell called the trip to the IL a precautionary measure and told Topkin and other reporters that he might only miss the minimum 15-day period.
11:07 am: The Rays announced that right-hander Zack Littell was placed on the 15-day injured list due to fatigue in his throwing shoulder. The placement is retroactive to August 15. The left-hander Tyler Alexander was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.
Littell threw five one-run innings but only 68 pitches in his last start on Aug. 14, perhaps suggesting that his shoulder problem may have precipitated a relatively early exit from the game. The 68 pitches were Littell’s second-lowest pitch total of the season, as the veteran has been a reliable and consistent presence in the Rays’ rotation, leading the team in both innings (129 2/3) and starts (24).
Those are both career highs for Littell, who pitched just 172 2/3 innings and 18 starts at the MLB level before Tampa Bay claimed the right-hander off Boston’s roster via waivers in May 2023. Initially, Littell worked as a reliever and opener with his new team, but he flourished in the final two months of the 2023 season after earning the first extended starting spot of his six major league seasons.
That success earned Littell another spot in Tampa’s rotation this year, and he has continued to pitch well, posting a 3.89 ERA in his 129 2/3 innings. Littell’s 4.7% walk rate is one of the best in baseball, although the rest of his secondary metrics (such as a 21.1% strikeout rate, 39.6% hard hit ball rate, or 9.7% barrel rate) are below average. Home runs have also been a problem for Littell, but overall his 4.05 ERA isn’t far above his bottom-line ERA.
At a salary of $1.85 million in his second year of arbitration, Littell was a bargain, and he’ll continue to be a low-cost rotation player even after receiving a hefty raise this winter. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams noted in an exclusive article for subscribers in May, Littell was the latest overlooked pitcher to suddenly reach a new level of success after joining the Rays.
Today’s move to the IL interrupts what was an overall solid season for the right-hander, and given the calendar, the injury could potentially end Littell’s 2024 season entirely. Another bout of shoulder fatigue cost him about three weeks last season, and while every situation is different, this move could be a way to give Littell a break after nearly a full year of increased workload. The Rays could use Alexander as a bulk pitcher behind an opener while Littell is on the IL, or the team could once again tap into the farm system to find a replacement pitcher.
