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Rays claim former SF Giants reliever off waivers from Red Sox

The Tampa Bay Rays claimed former SF Giants right-handed pitcher Zack Littell off waivers from the Boston Red Sox.
Marc Delucchi|
Rays claim former SF Giants reliever off waivers from Red Sox
Rays claim former SF Giants reliever off waivers from Red Sox

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San Francisco GiantsTampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays claimed former SF Giants right-handed pitcher Zack Littell off waivers from the Boston Red Sox on Saturday. Littell was a prominent middle reliever and setup option for the Giants from 2021-2022, but struggles last season led San Francisco to designate him for assignment. He signed a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers during the offseason but was traded to the Red Sox earlier this month and returned to the majors.

Littell was drafted by the Seattle Mariners back in 2013 and would spend time in the minors with the Marines, Yankees, and Twins organizations. Once he landed with the Twins, Littell found his way to the majors in 2018 and spent the next three seasons bouncing between Triple-A and the majors with Minnesota. Over that span, Littell posted a 4.52 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 23 walks in 63.2 innings pitched (43 games).

Littell inked a minor-league deal with the Giants prior to the 2021 season and quickly performed his way into their bullpen mix. In the Giants 107-win campaign, he recorded a 2.92 ERA with 63 strikeouts and 24 walks in 61.2 innings pitched (63 appearances). Despite his standout ERA, other metrics like FIP (3.87), xFIP (4.11), and xERA (3.87) suggested he had benefitted from some good luck.

Indeed, Littell faced significant negative regression in 2022, posting a 5.08 ERA in 44.1 innings (39 games) with the Giants despite a comparable FIP (4.65), xFIP (4.14), and xERA (3.64). Those on-field struggles culminated in notable frustration for the righty that led him to have an on-field confrontation with Giants manager Gabe Kapler when he was removed from the game. Littell apologized following the events, but he was demoted to Triple-A and designated for assignment shortly after.

In his two games with the Red Sox, Littell pitched 3.0 innings, allowing three runs on three hits with two strikeouts. In eight appearances at Triple-A with the Rangers, the righty posted a 2.25 ERA with 16 strikeouts and just two walks in 12 innings pitched. He will hope to replicate his 2021 production with the SF Giants now that he's in Tampa Bay with the Rays.

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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