Red Sox Designate Pitcher For Assignment Days After Trading For Him

Boston refuses to get rid of Ryan Brasier

Scott Neville | May 10, 2023

Red Sox Designate Pitcher For Assignment Days After Trading For Him /

In this story:

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox made a move to bolster their starting pitching staff which cost them a mid-level reliever -- at least for the time being.

The Red Sox designated right-hander Zack Littell for assignment Wednesday to make room for left-handed starting pitcher James Paxton on the roster, the team announced.

Boston traded cash to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Littell on Saturday. The 27-year-old hurler was off to a fantastic start at Triple-A Round Rock but had a pair of outings with Boston that left something to be desired.

Littell allowed three earned runs with three hits, two strikeouts and three walks across three innings of work. The sample size was not enough to determine much of anything but his stuff did appear to be better than his results imply.

It's likely that Littell will return to the Red Sox organization for Triple-A Worcester, assuming he clears waivers. He had to be placed on the big league roster initially due to an upward-mobility clause but this designation negates any contractual agreement.

While the move is not going to have a major impact on the roster, it does further prove the organization's trust in Ryan Brasier -- which continues to be absolutely mind-blowing.

Littell likely will be back on the roster at some point but it's a shame to see him lose his spot when there is a much more obvious player to cut on the active roster.

More MLB: Red Sox's Nick Pivetta Has Fiery Response To Potential Transition To Bullpen

Published May 10, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu