Reds make surprising late-night trade that could quietly reshape starting rotation

The Cincinnati Reds added Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Ke'Bryan Hays to help shore up the team defense, and then picked up Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Zack Littell to help bolster the starting rotation. The Reds are preparing for what they hope to be a playoff run during the second-half of the season. Cincinnati shipped pitchers Brian Van Belle and Adam Serwinowski to Tampa Bay to seal the deal.

Littell is an innings-eater who will bring a great deal of command and control to the Reds' starting rotation. The right-hander maintains a sparkling 3.3% walk rate and is among the 85th percentile in chase rate. Littlel has a five-pitch mix that includes a slider, splitter, and a sinker.

The Reds were reportedly scouting the Rays earlier this week, and it's possible that Cincinnati had their eye on Littell Tampa Bay's most recent series against the New York Yankees. The 29-year-old went six innings against the Reds last weekend and just logged five scoreless innings against the Yankees in the Bronx.

Reds make surprising late-night trade for Rays pitcher Zack Littell

The question now becomes how will the Reds reallocate their starting rotation. Littell is a rental, so this move won't impact the long-term future of the starting rotation. But with Rhett Lowder, Carson Spiers, Brandon Williamson, and Julian Aguiar all on the shelf for the rest of the season, the Reds needed to get some extra depth. Cincinnati is also without Hunter Greene at the moment, though he's scheduled to step onto the mound for another rehab outing on Sunday.

The Reds failed to make this type of addition in 2023 and it may have cost them a playoff spot. Nick Krall is not making that mistake again. Littell is likely to join the rotation, but could also be part of the Reds bullpen. Though he's worked as a starter the last two seasons in Tampa, Littell has experience as a reliever as well.

Terry Francona can then either roll with a six-man rotation or move Nick Martinez and/ or Chase Burns to the bullpen. It's also possible — given his innings-restriction — that Burns is optioned back to the minors to help preserve his arm for later in the season.

The important thing is that the addition of Littell gives Cincinnati some depth in their starting rotation. None of the Reds young starters have worked this many innings before, and having a veteran like Littell will help to stablize the rotation during the second-half of the season.

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