Cincinnati Reds Continue to be Aggressive, Finalizing Trade With Tampa Bay Rays

CINCINNATI — The Reds are trading for Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Zack Littell according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.

Littell, 29, has started 50 games over the past two seasons. He has a 3.72 ERA in 128 1/3 innings this season. He's scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the year.

Littell gives the Reds another proven starter, but like Nick Martinez, he has experience pitching out of the bullpen. With Hunter Greene still on the injured list and Nick Lodolo's injury history, adding another proven starter makes sense for Nick Krall and the Reds.

Cincinnati traded for Ke'Bryan Hayes on Wednesday afternoon. He's arguably the best defensive third baseman in the big leagues.

"Look at last night’s game," Krall said on Wednesday afternoon. "Defensive plays are the difference in the game. Everyone loves the idea of getting a bat. If you can prevent the runs, you’re going to win games, too."

The Reds are sending Triple-A right hander Brian Van Belle and Class A lefthander Adam Serwinowski to the Rays in the trade according to Gordon Wittmyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Clearly the Reds President believes that adding another proven arm is going to give them the depth they need to make a legitimate run to the postseason.

Tampa Bay will receive two players in return, but they're still going through the medicals according to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com.

"Two guys that are in Triple-A that got to Triple-A two weeks ago, Hector Rodriguez and Sal Stewart, have gone to Triple-A, played really well and have a chance to make an impact on this club," Krall said on Wednesday afternoon. "It's really hard to give guys like that up because that is your future. That is your long-term future, and it's not too far away. So it's really important that for us, in this market, to be able to develop from within in everything we do. So yeah, you do have to protect some of those guys."

Littell joins a Reds club that is 57-52 on the season. They're third in the National League Central, 7.5 games behind the first place Brewers and 6.5 games behind the Cubs. They're also three games back in the National League Wild Card race.

Zack Littell pitched 5 innings of scoreless baseball tonight at Yankee Stadium.

He has a 3.58 ERA on the season. The #Reds tagged him up for 10 hits and 5 earned runs on July 25th at GABP.
— Austin Elmore (@autyelmore) July 31, 2025

The Cincinnati Reds are finalizing a trade to acquire right-hander Zack Littell from the Tampa Bay Rays, sources tell ESPN. Deal is agreed to, pending medical review.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 31, 2025

Make sure you bookmark Cincinnati Reds Talk for the latest news, exclusive interviews, and daily coverage of the Cincinnati Reds!