Littell DFA'd as Nationals continue post-Deadline roster reset

PHILADELPHIA -- The shakeup of the Nationals’ roster has continued beyond Monday's 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline.

The Nats designated veteran right-hander Zack Littell for assignment on Wednesday after he allowed four runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings in a 5-0 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday.

Littell, 30, made 14 starts and pitched behind an opener for matchup purposes in another nine. He went 7-8 with a 4.97 ERA in 112 1/3 innings this season. The Nationals signed Littell in March to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2027 that guaranteed him $7 million.

“It’s a really difficult day,” said manager Blake Butera. “Zack’s meant a ton to us on the field and off the field. Obviously, he was frustrated with the performance; he wishes he had pitched better. I told him we were all very appreciative for what he brought to the clubhouse, the type of leader he is. I thought he brought this group together as a whole. Also, I was appreciative for being open-minded to the different roles that we had him go through this year and tried to find ways to help him have success and maybe get rolling a little bit.”

Littell’s DFA corresponded with the Nationals reinstating right-hander Brad Lord from the injured list to rejoin the bullpen. Washington underwent plenty of change ahead of the Deadline, including sending All-Star left-hander Foster Griffin to the Guardians, and infielders Curtis Mead to the Red Sox and Luis García Jr. to the Yankees.

In addition to shipping key players out at the Deadline, the Nationals placed slugger James Wood on the 10-day injured list on Tuesday with a left oblique strain.

While in the thick of the National League Wild Card race, the Nationals ran into an eight-game road stretch against the Braves and Phillies. They entered Wednesday having lost seven in a row and 5 1/2 games back of the final NL Wild Card spot.

“It definitely feels like a little bit of a reset,” Butera said of this point in the season. “I think I'd be naive to say it's not for a variety of reasons. One, the Trade Deadline just happened. I think we all know who's not here anymore, Woody going on the IL, the decision to DFA Littell today -- it just feels like there's a lot of things that have changed in the last handful of days. Plus, we're not playing very well right now.

“I think with that, it's an opportunity for us to kind of take a step back and just identify what we want this team to look like and how we want to play our game. I think that this group here is going to look at this challenge as an opportunity. … It's an opportunity for these guys to showcase what they can do and also get them some experience at the Major League level.”

The Nationals have not announced how they will fill the vacant starting rotation spots, but there are intriguing arms at Triple-A Rochester. Left-hander Jackson Kent (No. 8 prospect) and right-hander Luis Perales (No. 10) are both on the 40-man roster.

Kent, 23, is 8-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 19 starts between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester this season. He has a 10.2 strikeout rate and a 2.8 walk rate in 88 2/3 innings. Kent was drafted in the fourth round by the Nationals in 2024.

Perales, 23, was acquired from the Red Sox in the offseason. He has spent the entire season in Triple-A, throwing 83 2/3 frames as he builds up a workload from having experienced injuries. He has a 5-5 record, a 3.44 ERA, a 8.3 strikeout rate and a 5.1 walk rate in 20 games (17 starts).

“At the end of the day, we're just trying to figure out a way to get our best 13 pitchers in this clubhouse and try to find ways to help us win,” said Butera.