When Zack Littell arrived in St. Petersburg in mid-2023 as a waiver claim from the Red Sox, he was seen as a journeyman middle reliever. Having bounced through Minnesota and San Francisco, few expected him to become a Tampa Bay pitching success. Yet, the Rays saw elite strike-throwing potential they could develop into more.
Faced with a severe influx of injuries to their starting rotation, the coaching staff asked Littell to step up and take a starting role—a challenge he accepted with notable efficiency. Throughout the latter half of 2023, he stabilized an underperforming pitching staff, delivering precise, high-leverage strikes to achieve a 3.93 ERA across 14 starts, thereby providing Tampa Bay with the essential mid-season boost necessary to secure a wild-card position.
He demonstrated that the transition was not merely a transient occurrence by consistently occupying the role of a full-time starting pitcher throughout a resilient and highly reliable campaign in 2024. Utilizing a precisely aimed four-seam fastball, a formidable slider, and a newly refined splitter, Littell established himself as the definitive "strike-zone filler" for a team that emphasizes pitching efficiency. He made a career-high 29 appearances, covering 156.1 vital innings, and achieved 141 strikeouts while only issuing 31 walks, resulting in an impressive record of 8–10 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.63.
Littell returned to the Tampa Bay rotation for the 2025 season, maintaining his role as a reliable strike-thrower. As the Rays began retooling, they traded Littell to the Cincinnati Reds before the July deadline, ending his productive stint in the American League East. With the Rays, he posted a 16–21 record, 3.76 ERA, and 1.20 WHIP. He ate up 299.1 innings, striking out 257 batters while walking only 51.
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