WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After throwing a head-turning 186 2/3 innings last season, right-hander Zack Littell is eager to get back out on the mound and do it again. This time, in a Nationals uniform.
The 30-year-old Littell signed with the Nats on Tuesday ahead of his ninth Major League season.
“He’s someone that we're just really excited to get in here,” Nationals manager Blake Butera said. “He always wants the ball. He's super consistent, like you know what you're going to get every night out. He's a competitive competitor. He wants to be on the mound. Just somebody you love to have in your rotation.”
Littell will earn a $3 million salary in 2026, plus another $2.5 million in potential incentives based on innings pitched, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. There is a $12 million mutual option for 2027 with a $4 million buyout, guaranteeing him $7 million in the deal.
Littell will earn $100,000 each for 100, 110, 120, 130 and 140 innings pitched, $250,000 for 150 and 160, and $500,000 for reaching the 170, 180 and 190 inning marks.
“I've always kind of prided myself on just being a guy that goes out there and throws innings quietly,” Littell said. “I don't need to be ‘the guy.’ I don't need the game to be about me. I just want to eat innings and [for] people to look up and be like, ‘Hey, this guy's thrown 180 innings.’ That's kind of always my goal.”
Littell began his big league career in the bullpen. He moved into a starting role in 2023 when he joined the Rays, where Butera was working in player development at the time.
Littell joins two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet and Zack Wheeler as the only pitchers with at least 340 innings, an ERA below 3.75 and a strikeout-to-walk ratio above 4.20 over the past two seasons.
Last year, he led all qualified pitchers in walks per batter faced (.042), ranked second in walks per nine innings (1.54) and tied All-Star Bryan Woo for 11th in innings pitched.
“I’m a starter. I came here to start,” Littell said. “I had some other offers that were going to let me start, but also there was a little less certainty down the road of guys coming back, and it wasn't something that I really wanted to deal with. I think over the last two-and-a-half years, I've kind of proven that I can start and belong in the rotation. So the opportunity was presented here, and it's definitely what I wanted to do.”
A Nationals starting rotation that had not yet been determined now faces even more questions.
Littell joins the mix with Cade Cavalli, Miles Mikolas (who also signed during camp), Foster Griffin, Jake Irvin, Brad Lord and Josiah Gray as starting rotation contenders. Gray, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, might not be built up for Opening Day. Lord could be moved into the bullpen as a long reliever, like he did last season.
The Nats are not looking at this time at a six-man rotation.
“It’s always a good problem to have too many starting pitchers,” Butera said. “We'll talk through it as Zack is still building up. Of course, what that looks like in the beginning could be different than what it looks like during the year. We want to be responsible with what he's doing. He was obviously throwing while he was a free agent, but we want to get him under our eyes and make sure we're smart with how much he's throwing and how long he's going and all those things. So we’re still just going to work through what that all looks like.”
Littell threw a side session on Tuesday, and the Nationals will determine when he will pitch in a game.
In addition to being familiar with Butera from the Rays, Littell also knows bench coach Michael Johns from his time as Tampa Bay’s first-base coach. Littell played with catching coach/run game coordinator Bobby Wilson in the Twins system, where hitting coach Matt Borgschulte was a Minor League hitting coach, too. Most recently, Littell worked with pitching coach Simon Mathews last season when Mathews was the Reds’ assistant pitching coach.
“I had some familiarity with the staff and saw that it was going to be a really good group,” Littell said. “This roster, although younger and a little less experienced, has a lot of talent. So it’s an exciting place to be.”