Just as the dust settled following the trade deadline, Paul Toboni made another significant move. He decided to DFA rotation mainstay Zack Littell this afternoon. When Littell was brought in this offseason, he was expected to be a stabilizing mid-rotation presence, but he was just too hittable to make that happen.
For
the season, Littell posted a 4.97 ERA in 112.1 innings. After a miserable April, Littell looked to be turning things around in May with a 5-0 record and 2.35 ERA. However, he returned to his home run prone nature and was not overly effective.
Despite that, I am still a bit surprised that he was shown the door. In Littell’s last 15 outings, his ERA was a totally fine 4.03. If the Nats were to push a veteran starter out the door, I would have thought it would be Miles Mikolas. I still have a hard time believing Mikolas will finish the season with the club, but it is surprising that Littell went before him.
When you look beneath the surface, Littell might even be worse than the 4.97 ERA he posted though. He had a 6.09 xERA and a 5.76 FIP. Those numbers are elevated because he simply could not keep the ball in the yard. Littell allowed 25 homers this season, which is just an absurdly high number.
For Littell, his whole free agency process last offseason just seems to have gone horribly wrong. He was coming off two nice seasons, but it seems like he overplayed his hand and had to settle for a one year deal in the middle of Spring Training. The late arrival clearly affected Littell, who was not sharp at all coming out of the gates. From there it was just an uphill battle.
After this season, Littell will likely have to settle for a very cheap big league deal or maybe even a minor league deal. That is really tough luck for a guy who posted a 3.73 ERA between 2024 and 2025. He deserved better this offseason, but teams saw the red flags and those fears came true this season.
Littell seemed like a good locker room guy, so hopefully he can land on his feet and find a home for the rest of the season. With Littell gone, the Nats are going to have a youth movement in the rotation. Guys like Jackson Kent, Connelly Early and Luis Perales will look to make their mark down the stretch. Those guys might be inconsistent, but it will be more exciting than watching highly hittable innings eaters like Littell.
