Zack

Littell

Littell allowed four hard-hit balls, but miraculously none of them went for extra bases. His velocity was down across the board and his fastball averaged under 90 miles an hour. Littell signed fairly recently so this probably still qualifies as part of his build up, and The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum says it “sounds like” he’ll make one more start in a game setting before joining the Nationals for Opening Day. We wouldn’t be trying to find a reason to start him early in the season with how he currently looks.

Zack Littell was scheduled to take the hill opposite Braxton Garrett, who is vying for the final spot in Miami’s rotation along with Janson Junk. Littell worked three innings last Friday in his spring debut. He’ll presumably get his work in during a bullpen session to stay on schedule for the start of the year.

The 30-year-old hurler struck out two batters on the day and didn’t issue a base on balls. The lone tally against him came on an RBI double off the bat of Ronny Mauricio in the opening inning while his two punchouts were courtesy of Carson Benge and Vidal Brujan. Littell needed just 39 pitches (28 strikes) to navigate three frames in this one. He still has time to make another couple of starts before his turn in the rotation in the regular season and it seems like he’ll be ready to go when his name is called.

This deal was announced over the weekend and is now official. The contract could reach up to $9.5 million with incentives and comes with a $12 million mutual option for 2027 and a $4 million buyout. There’s a strong likelihood that Littell is the Nationals’ most reliable starting pitcher this season, but that is unlikely to come with many wins.

The Nationals desperately need help in their rotation and Littell is the top starting pitcher remaining on the open market, so the union makes sense. No word yet on the financial details of the contract, which is still pending a physical. It’s also unclear what type of shape Littell is in and how long it will take him to ramp up. He could wind up being a viable late-round option for fantasy purposes, though he’s never going to be an asset in the strikeout department.

Littell threw 41 of his 52 pitches for strikes, but six those turned into base hits, leading to one run in the third and two in the fourth. Not much more than this really could have been expected from Littell against the powerful Dodgers lineup, and giving him a start in the series was a very questionable decision from the Reds. It was still a nice year for Littell overall, and he’ll take a 10-8 record and a 3.81 ERA with him into free agency.

Francona added that they’re going to be cautious with Nick Lodolo after he pitched in relief during Sunday’s regular-season finale which is why Littell and Abbott will draw the starting assignments after ace Hunter Greene kicks off the three-game series at Dodger Stadium. The expectation is that Lodolo will be available in relief, if needed, at some point during the series.

Littell struck out three batters on the night while issuing a pair of walks. The lone tally against him came on an RBI single off the bat of Brice Turang in the third inning. The 29-year-old hurler generated six whiffs on 85 pitches on the night, posting an underwhelming CSW of 22 percent. Littell finishes the regular season with a solid 10-8 record, 3.81 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 130/32 K/BB ratio across 186 2/3 innings in 32 starts between the Reds and Rays.

Littell held the Cubs off the board through two innings before giving up a solo homer to Michael Busch in the third. Reese McGuire later went deep of Littell for a solo shot in the fifth. The two runs would be all Littell would surrender over five innings of work. He scattered one other hit and one walk while striking out four batters. The 29-year-old right-hander will take a 3.86 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, and a 127/30 K/BB ratio across 182 innings into his final regular season start against the Brewers in Milwaukee on Friday.

He allowed one run through five and retired the first two batters of the sixth, but four in a row reached against him after that, scoring three runs. Littell is the major league leader with 34 homers allowed, but he didn’t give up any tonight. He surrendered just two hits before the end-of-outing barrage. Littell will make his next start Saturday against the Cubs.