The Diamondbacks’ latest roster move is a reminder of how fast things can change in baseball. According to Yardbarker’s report by Simeon Kotto, Arizona has released right-hander Zack Littell, ending a stay that lasted barely two weeks.
Littell arrived on Aug. 9, when Arizona signed him to a one-year major league deal after Washington released him from a $7 million contract, Yardbarker reported. The setup made sense on paper. The Diamondbacks needed innings, and injuries had thinned the rotation. Littell, a 30-year-old swingman, was brought in as a long reliever or bulk arm behind an opener — the kind of depth piece a club leans on when the schedule keeps coming and the pitching staff needs help.
For one night, it looked like a smart pickup. In his debut, Littell worked the final 4 2/3 innings of a 9-0 shutout over the Colorado Rockies and picked up the win after starter Michael Soroka was on a limited pitch count, according to Yardbarker. That kind of first impression can buy a pitcher some breathing room. It suggested Arizona might have found exactly the sort of low-cost innings eater it was looking for.
But the next two outings went the other direction. Yardbarker reported that Littell allowed 12 runs over 7 1/3 innings and gave up five home runs. That was enough to change the tone quickly. On Aug. 23, the Diamondbacks designated him for assignment when they reinstated Drey Jameson from the injured list and also placed Soroka back on the IL. Three days later, Littell was placed on release waivers.
If he goes unclaimed, he’ll become a free agent again, per Yardbarker. The piece also noted that Arizona’s move was low-cost roster housekeeping, with Jameson and Gerardo Carrillo giving the club fresher arms for long relief and low-leverage work as it tries to stay in the National League West race.
For Littell, the bigger picture is a familiar one. Yardbarker says he has pitched for seven organizations across nine major league seasons, and his career line sits at 42-37 with a 4.11 ERA in 260 appearances. The numbers behind this brief Arizona stop tell the story: the debut win was real, but the homers that followed ended the experiment just as quickly as it began.
