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The Cincinnati Reds are an interesting team to watch at the trade deadline this season, and now they are making a move in the shadows to bolster their starting rotation.
Late on Wednesday night, with just under 24 hours to go until Thursday's cutoff, the Reds made a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays to acquire starting pitcher Zack Littell, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The deal will become official after Littell passes a physical.
“The Cincinnati Reds are finalizing a trade to acquire right-hander Zack Littell from the Tampa Bay Rays, sources tell ESPN,” Passan reported on X, formerly Twitter. “Deal is agreed to, pending medical review.”
Littell has been rock-solid this season, with an 8-8 record in 21 starts and very respectable 3.72 ERA. He is not a high strikeout pitcher, but has given up just 17 walks on the year and should slide right into the Reds' rotation as someone who can give them solid starting pitching.
The Los Angeles Dodgers ended up being looped into the trade, receiving a pair of pitchers and a position player in the deal, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. Left-hander Adam Serwinowski and right-hander Paul Gervase are headed to Hollywood along with catcher Ben Rortvedt.
In return for Littell, the Rays are getting catcher Hunter Feduccia and right-hander Brian Van Belle, per Passan.
The big knock on Littell so far this season has been the amount of home runs that he has given up. In fact, he has allowed a MLB-high 26 home runs in just 21 games, so he is giving up more than one big fly per game. However, he has one of the lowest walk rates in baseball and consistently pitches deep into games due to his consistency and efficiency.
Still, having Littell on the team will help the Reds make a push for the elusive NL Wild Card, a race which is stocked full of some of the best teams in the league. Cincinnati is far off the pace in the NL Central as the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers continue to stack wins, but they are just three games out of the final playoff spot.
This is the second big trade that the Reds made on Wednesday, after they acquired third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes from the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is clear that Cincinnati is going all-in to make a playoff push this season, and they may not be done with hours to go until the deadline.
