The Tampa Bay Rays were dealt a tough injury blow on Saturday. Starting pitcher Zack Littell is heading to the injured list with a shoulder injury.
Littell will be placed on the 15-day IL retroactive to Aug. 15 with what the Rays described as “right shoulder fatigue” per a team announcement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. In a corresponding move, the Rays will be promoting pitcher Tyler Alexander from Triple-A Durham to take Littell's spot.
Littel spoke about his injury before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
The veteran starter told Topkin that he has “no pain” in his shoulder and that the move was precautionary. Littell then confirmed that he expects this to be a short IL stint and that he anticipates returning to the mound this season.
This is a big blow for a Rays team that does not have very much starting pitching depth after trading Zach Eflin to the Baltimore Orioles and Aaron Civale to the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this season. However, Littell appears optimistic about his injury, so if everything goes according to plan he may just miss two turns in the rotation.
Zach Littell's 2024 season with the Rays
The Rays have had a disappointing 2024 season. They are currently 6.5 games back of the third American League Wild Card position but effectively took themselves out of the postseason race after being one of the biggest sellers at the deadline. The Rays traded away Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes, Phil Maton and Shawn Armstrong, Eflin and Civale, among others.
Despite the Rays' overall struggles, Littell has been a bright spot. Through 24 starts, Littell has pitched 129 2/3 innings and has a 3.89 ERA. The 28-year-old righty, who also has experience pitching out of the bullpen, has shown that he could be a real piece on a contending team as the Rays begin a rebuild.
As Littel said, it does not look like his current shoulder issue is anything serious and should not have any long-term impact. If he is able to return end the season on a high note, Littell can assert himself as a key part of the Rays' future. The rotation already has a lot of potential with young pitchers like Taj Bradley, Ryan Pepiot and Shane Baz and a perennial Cy Young candidate when he's healthy with Shane McClanahan. Littell could end up being the final piece to the Rays' future rotation.
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