Diamondbacks place Zack Littell on release waivers after three-game stint

The Diamondbacks placed Zack Littell on release waivers, per the MLB.com transaction log. He is expected to become a free agent if he goes unclaimed.

Arizona designated Littell for assignment on Sunday, ending a brief tenure that lasted three appearances. The club had signed the veteran right-hander as a long reliever following his release by Washington.

What happened

Littell's time in Arizona began with promise and ended with a barrage. He worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings to close out a shutout win over Colorado in his first outing — a strong enough debut to justify the signing. His next two appearances went in a different direction entirely: 12 runs allowed over 7 1/3 innings, with five home runs surrendered across those two outings.

The Diamondbacks designated him for assignment on Sunday and subsequently placed him on release waivers, per the MLB.com transaction log. Under general league waiver mechanics, a player placed on outright waivers can be claimed by another club within a 48-hour window. If no team puts in a claim, Littell reaches free agency.

Why it matters

The home run problem that defined Littell's previous two seasons did not stay in Washington. He surrendered 36 home runs last season and has allowed 30 more this year, per MLB Trade Rumors. Across both seasons dating back to 2025, he has allowed the second-most home runs in baseball in each individual year and leads all pitchers over the combined span.

Arizona needed long relief depth when it brought him in, and his first outing suggested the fit might work. But the calculus shifted quickly once the home runs arrived. A pitcher who does not miss many bats and allows frequent hard contact carries real risk when the contact turns into home runs at that volume. Littell has recorded a 13.5% strikeout rate this season, well below league average, and while he limits walks, the lack of swing-and-miss leaves him with a narrow margin for error — one that his final two outings erased entirely.

The move opens a spot on Arizona's 40-man roster and removes a pitcher whose profile had stopped fitting the club's needs.

The numbers

Littell's season line tells the story plainly. He has allowed 30 home runs this year, the second-highest total in baseball, per MLB Trade Rumors. His 13.5% strikeout rate offers little cushion when hitters put the ball in play. The combination — modest stuff, limited swing-and-miss, and a well-documented tendency to give up the long ball — is a profile that demands nearly everything go right.

The three-game Arizona sample compressed that vulnerability into a short window. After 4 2/3 scoreless innings in his debut, he allowed 12 runs over 7 1/3 innings in his next two appearances, with five home runs in that span. The season-long home run total and the Arizona sample are not separate data points pulling in different directions; they are the same story told at different speeds.

Where the club stands

The Diamondbacks are 75-68 (.524), sitting second in the NL West and 10.5 games back, riding a one-game winning streak. They open a three-game series at Oracle Park on Thursday, with Jose Cabrera scheduled to face the Giants' Landen Roupp. Kohl Drake follows on Friday against Blade Tidwell, and Merrill Kelly closes the series Saturday against Matt Wilkinson.

The timing of the move carries some practical logic. Under general league roster rules, active rosters are capped at 26 players through August 31, then expand to 28 beginning September 1. Carrying a long reliever who had just allowed 12 runs in two outings made less sense with that expansion window approaching and fresh options potentially available. The Diamondbacks are in a position where every roster decision between now and the end of the regular season carries weight — second place in the NL West with a record of 75-68 is not a comfortable perch, but it is a meaningful one.

What we don't know yet

Whether another club will claim Littell off waivers is the immediate open question. His track record includes stretches of genuine effectiveness, and a team with bullpen depth concerns and a higher tolerance for home run risk could see value in a veteran who limits walks and eats innings. The two-year home run total and the recent performance may limit that interest, but waiver claims have been made on thinner cases.

If he clears waivers and reaches free agency, his next opportunity will most likely come through a minor-league deal — the familiar landing spot for a pitcher with his profile at this point in the season, often carrying an opt-out clause and a spring-training invitation attached.

What to watch

The waiver window will settle Littell's immediate future. A claim means another club inherits his contract and adds him to its 40-man roster. No claim means free agency and the open market.

For Arizona, the more pressing question is how the club uses the roster flexibility the move creates. With September expansion days away, the Diamondbacks can add depth without the same constraints that defined August decisions. The three-game series in San Francisco — a road trip that opens Thursday — will be the first look at how the bullpen is configured without him.

Littell's two-year home run total dating back to 2025, as reported by MLB Trade Rumors, is the kind of number that tends to follow a pitcher from city to city. Arizona gave him three appearances to show something different. The final two outings suggested the number was not going anywhere.