Nationals DFA Veteran Pitcher After Activating Brad Lord Off Injured List
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The Washington Nationals have made another roster change in the middle of their four-game road series against the Philadelphia Phillies.
After putting James Wood on the injured list and shuffling their bullpen unit, the Nationals made another high-profile move ahead of Wednesday's contest. Per an announcement from the team, they decided to designate right-handed pitcher Zack Littell for assignment as the corresponding move to right-handed pitcher Brad Lord getting activated off the injured list.
Back on July 9, Lord was placed on the 15-day IL due to tightness in his left side. While he ran into some trouble before is his injured list stint, he had been Washington's best reliever. So getting him back at this stage of the season is a plus.
Nationals Decide to Pull Plug on Zack Littell
While the Nationals will benefit from Lord's return, the headlining bit of this piece of news is the fact that Washington decided to pull the plug on the Littell experience.
Signed in the spring to a one-year, $7 million deal, his addition was seen as a huge boon for this starting rotation. After all, the veteran right-hander was coming off two straight seasons where he put up a cumulative ERA of 3.73 across 61 starts and 343 total innings pitched with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cincinnati Reds.
Unfortunately for the Nationals, they didn't get that version of the 30-year-old.
Instead, Washington had to find ways to hide Littell. Manager Blake Butera tried to use openers in front of Littell to help him out, but that ultimately did more harm than good since it put the bullpen in tough situations. However, for a little bit, it seemed like the strategy was starting to work. In May, after a disastrous month of April where Littell posted an 8.37 ERA, he rebounded to put up an ERA of 2.35 where three out of his six appearances came behind an opener. But that was the peak of Littell, as he owned a 4.97 ERA on the year before his DFA.
Brad Lord's Return Gives Nationals Best Bullpen They've Had All Season
The return of Lord shouldn't be understated, though. With him back alongside Clayton Beeter, Orlando Ribalta, Trevor Williams and newcomers Yovanny Cruz and Will Dion, this is the best bullpen the Nationals have had, on paper, this season.
While it's too little, too late when it comes to Washington's playoff chances since they are now almost guaranteed to not make the postseason this year, this will at least give the organization a glimpse into the future when it comes to how this relief staff might look going forward.
There will be other adjustments and changes made before the end of the season, regardless of if everyone stays healthy or not. But with Lord back in the mix, the Nationals have the majority of their best bullpen arms together on the roster at the same time.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai