The Washington Nationals finally bounced back last night. After enduring a brutal stretch in which the team lost 8 of 9 games including a devastating 4-game sweep at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, the offense for the Nationals finally broke out in a huge way, setting them up for an opportunity to earn a series split with the Philadelphia Phillies later today.
However, moving forward, the Nationals will no longer have the services of one of their veteran starting pitchers who had been a mainstay in the rotation throughout this season. While more moves might be coming before the end of the season, the Nationals said goodbye to their highest-paid pitcher and key veteran offseason signing.
Nationals DFA Zack Littell as Brad Lord returns from 15-day Injured List
As the headline above reads, the Nationals officially designated veteran righty Zack Littell for assignment yesterday in favor of returning Brad Lord from the 15-day Injured List. The release caps what had been a pretty disappointing stint in Washington for a team that was more than desperate for quality veteran starting pitching.
Littell signed a 1-year, $7 million deal that had the opportunity to reach up to $9.5 million with incentives, and also included a $12 million mutual option for next season as well. Obviously, Littell's option will not come into play next year, as he will be bought out for $4 million on top of his $3 million base salary for this season, bringing his earnings from the Nationals to that aforementioned $7 million.
The 30-year-old has posted some of the worst numbers of his career this season, and he has missed less bats than he ever has before over a full season. Over 112.1 innings for the Nationals, Littell struck out just 70 batters while walking 35, and his 1.335 WHIP was a bit higher than his career marks. His 4.97 ERA was actually a pretty major improvement from where it was earlier in the season, after he got off to a slow start due to not having a spring training.
Littell now will get a chance to latch on with a contender to potentially eat some innings, but it is unclear what his market might look like at this time. With Littell now out of the fold for the Nationals, it will be interesting to see how the rotation for the Nationals shakes out for the rest of this season, as we likely will still see more changes made before the year ends such as Miles Mikolas.
What do you think of the Nationals deciding to DFA Zack Littell? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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